If you’re in the approximately one-third of the world’s population that suffers from iron deficiency anemia, this one’s for you!
Iron, while a heavy metal, is actually an essential nutrient for human nutrition and you would quite literally not be able to function without it. Among other things, iron plays a crucial role in your bloodstream, where it binds to your hemoglobin and helps the blood carry oxygen to the rest of your cells. Iron is actually needed to produce hemoglobin, meaning that without iron, your body could not produce red blood cells and could not carry any oxygen to the rest of your body. So yeah, iron is pretty important.
Unfortunately, iron deficiency anemia is very common, especially among women (specifically pregnant women), children, teens, vegans/vegetarians, and those of low socioeconomic status. Anemia can be caused by a lack of iron in your diet, or it can be caused by your body not efficiently absorbing the iron that you do consume (or a combination of both).
There are two types of iron: heme and non-heme. Heme iron is mostly found in animal products, and is plentiful in red meat and organ meat. Non-heme iron is the abundant form of iron found in plant products, such as green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Heme iron is absorbed by your body at a rate of around 15-35%, whereas non-heme iron is only absorbed at a rate of 2-20%. Even if you are eating vegetables rich in iron, you still might not be absorbing enough to prevent conditions such as iron deficiency anemia.
So how does one “fix” their iron-deficiency anemia? Well, for starters, you can take an iron supplement pill, which are typically sold at any health food store or similar. The better approach, in my opinion, is to increase your iron intake from your diet. As I mentioned before, you can get iron from both plant and animal sources, however it is more easily absorbed if it comes from animals. If you are willing to try them, organ meats are super high in iron and have an absorption rate of 25-30%, which is pretty efficient. Other great sources of heme iron include seafood like mussels, clams, oysters, shrimp and canned sardines; and other meats like chicken, beef, and pork.
If you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, it can be especially difficult to consume (and absorb) a sufficient amount of iron. Some great sources of non-heme iron include green leafy vegetables (such as spinach, kale, chard greens, and beet greens), sweet potatoes, string beans, whole grains, beans, lentils, and tofu. Because many Americans haven’t been meeting their daily requirements of vitamins and minerals, many cereals and grain products are also fortified with vitamins and minerals, including iron.
But, like I said before, sometimes you can have plenty of iron in your diet, but your body just has a hard time absorbing enough of it. Luckily for you, there are some things that you can do to help your body with the absorption of all that iron you work so hard to incorporate into your meals.
Cooking in a cast-iron pan.
It seems too obvious to be true, or maybe like something out of a science fiction novel, but if you cook your food in a cast iron pan, a small amount of iron will actually leech into your food. I know it probably sounds counterintuitive to actually want heavy metals to be transferred from your cookware to your meal, but in this case, cooking in cast iron can increase the (non-heme) iron content of your food by about 16%. Although I did just talk about how your body can’t absorb non-heme iron as easily, increasing the amount of iron in your food that you consume - even if it is non-heme iron - gives your body a better chance of absorbing more of it.
Including Vitamin C with your meals.
Believe it or not, what you eat with your iron-rich foods makes a difference in how you absorb the iron! Specifically, adding some Vitamin C - in the form of citrus juice, if that’s your thing - to your iron-filled veggies helps your body more efficiently absorb that iron. This is because the vitamin C (or ascorbic acid if we want to be scientific about it) forms a little compound with the iron which makes it easier for the intestines to absorb.
Some things to keep in mind while trying these tips:
If you don’t own cast iron cookware, don't worry! They actually sell these neat (and cute!) little fish-shaped figures that are designed to be cooked with your foods to add more iron. Just drop it into anything boiling (sauces, stews, soups, etc.) and enjoy the benefits! It works essentially the same way as a cast iron pan (but without the hassle of figuring out the right way to clean those things!)
Make sure if you’re incorporating vitamin C that you actually eat it with the iron-containing foods. Studies have found that having vitamin C hours before eating an iron-rich meal doesn’t really increase iron absorption as much as it would if you ate them together.
The more vitamin C the better! Studies have also found that the amount of iron absorbed increases with increasing amounts of Vitamin C. That means you’re allowed to be a little heavy-handed when it comes to citrus 🙂
To be honest, I don’t have a cast iron pan or a cute little iron fish, but I have always been a fan of lemon juice in my sautéed spinach and citrus dressings on my kale salads. Maybe I’ll order one of those fish guys and see how it is. But for now, try out these tips and you, too, can be like Tony Stark (...because he's Iron Man…get it?...okay sorry I’m done).
Let me know if you have any great citrus + greens recipes in the comments or by sending me an email 🙂
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