Meatless Food Sources of Iron
By Julianne Koritz
There are two categories of minerals: major minerals and trace minerals. Iron is a trace mineral. However minor that may sound, iron is an important mineral in your diet.
Iron is vital for hemoglobin formation in blood and energy metabolism. Anemia symptoms can result from iron deficiency. People with iron deficiency anemia may always feel cold.
This is because iron plays a role in regulating the body's temperature. Iron-deficient people also tire easily because their bodies are starved for oxygen.
Other symptoms may include pale skin tone, irritability, dizziness, weakness, shortness of breath, sore tongue, brittle nails, decreased appetite (especially in children) and/or frontal headache.
Iron is normally obtained through the food in ones diet. Food sources of iron include lean meats, eggs, whole grains, green leafy vegetables and legumes.
Iron from meat is better absorbed than iron from cereals. However, vitamin C can help aid absorption of iron from cereals and vegetables.
In fact, simultaneously consuming a food rich in vitamin C with food containing iron may triple your absorption of iron.
Meatless Sources of Iron
| Food | Portion Size | Iron Contained (mg) |
| Spinach | ¾ cup | 4.8 |
| Blackstrap Molasses | 1 tablespoon | 4.4 |
| Pumpkin Seeds | 2 tablespoons | 4.1 |
| Split Peas, green | 1 cup cooked | 3.5 |
| Lentils | ½ cup cooked | 3.4 |
| Kidney Beans | ½ cup cooked | 3.3 |
| Chard | ¾ cup cooked | 3 |
| Peas, edible pod | 1 cup raw | 3 |
| Bulgur wheat | 1 cup cooked | 2.9 |
| Pinto Beans | 1/12 cup cooked | 2.9 |
| Garbanzo Beans | ½ cup cooked | 2.6 |
| Lima Beans, dry | ½ cup cooked | 2.6 |
| Navy Beans, dry | ½ cup cooked | 2.5 |
| Soybeans, dry | ½ cup cooked | 2.5 |
| Peas, fresh | 1 cup cooked | 2.5 |
| Potato with skin | 1 medium cooked | 2.5 |
| Sesame meal | ¼ cup | 2.4 |
| Prune Juice | 6 ounces | 2.2 |
| Millet | 1 cup cooked | 2.2 |
| Beet Greens | ¾ cup cooked | 2.1 |
| Raisins seedless | 2/3 cup | 2.1 |
| Broccoli | 1 cup | 2 |
Recommended daily allowance female 11-50 years is 15 mg/day.
Recommended daily allowance female 51 years and over is 15 mg/day. 
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