how does a vegetarian get enough iron?!
what foods other than spinach (and meat) contain absorbable iron?
Answers:
You just need to make sure you have three servings of dark, leafy vegetables a week and you're good. If you don't like spinach, try silverbeet, bok choy or baby spinach leaves. (I definitely prefer the baby leaves to other types of spinach). All the best.
Top ten iron rich foods here:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/top-1…
Some veggies rich in iron:
http://www.ehow.com/about_5097510_vegeta…
Iron in veggies is non heme iron. It's absorbable, just harder for your body to absorb and use than the heme iron in meat, eggs, dairy. You need to eat a lot of those iron rich veggies or you could wind up with anemia. Remember, too, that many of those iron rich green veggies are also high in oxalates. Oxalates inhibit your body's ability to absorb iron AND calcium, possibly leading to kidney stones.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/155502…
Your body also gets protein easier from meat, eggs, dairy, than veggies. Vitamin D from animals is better used than the vitamin D from plants. There are several nutrients that, yes, are available in plants, but much easier for your body to use from meat, eggs, dairy. Why are they easier for the body to use? Because meat, eggs, dairy are part of our natural diet.
Eat lots of beans, including kidney, lima, navy, black, pinto, soy beans, and lentils, iron fortified whole grains, including cereals, breads, rice, and pasta, greens, including collard greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens, tofu, vegetables, including broccoli, swiss chard, asparagus, parsley, watercress, brussel sprouts...
A good way to track your nutrition is join www.sparkpeople.com and input what you eat on a daily basis. Its free, and you can choose to track extra nutrients to make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals. I suggest you research the foods you eat and input their iron content yourself though, because most of the foods are added by other users and people often use that site to diet and don't bother with the nutritional analysis.
But its an excellent way to track your nutrition intake. Another good vegetarian source of iron that no-one has mentioned is dried figs. They make a great treat and are loaded with iron!
Breakfast cereals contain iron and also dark leafy vegetables.
Raw cacao/chocolate.
they dont thats why you need meat god what is the world doing these days