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Foods to Prevent Deficiency of Iron

There is an increase in anemia, iron deficiency, in most people these days due to the hectic life-style and unhealthy food habits. You find that most of us are on a constant run to achieve our goals and tend to neglect the ‘health’ factor. You eat whatever is easily available and that which tickles your taste buds. Instead of wasting time and money for an iron deficiency treatment all you need t do is include certain foods in your regular diet. Here are some of the foods you need to include in your daily meals to prevent iron deficiency.

Vegetables and Fruits:

Prevention of anemia is easy if you include maximum number of fruits and vegetables in your diet. You need to concentrate on dark leafy greens like Swiss chard, spinach and kale, as there are natural sources of non-heme iron. You can also add peas, Brussels sprouts, string beans, sweet potatoes for the required dose of iron.

Talking about fruits, you have a wide choice like almonds, figs, raisins, dates, apricots and more. To ensure the reduction of the negative effects of phytates it is important to include citrus fruits. These phytates are compounds which bring down the absorption of iron.

Proteins:

Meat like veal, beef and liver provides the required heme iron. Chart out a diet plan and ensure you add meat at least two to three times in a week. Including sea food can also be termed as ‘foods with iron’. If you are a strict vegetarian, you can include tofu and soya in your meals.

Legumes, beans, nuts are a good source of folate though they are high in phytates. Folate is required to increase your absorption of iron. You can balance out your diet plan so that you do not go over-board.

Eggs:

Eggs are ideal for your breakfast as these include not only iron but also a number of vitamins and proteins. You get around 1.2mg of iron with a serving of 100 grams of eggs.

Foods to avoid for Anemia:

There are specific foods which interfere with the absorption of iron. It is best to avoid these as much as possible when you are dealing with anemia.

Tea and coffee
Whole-grain cereals
Dairy products and milk
Rich in gluten like products made of rye, wheat, refined flour
Foods that contain phytates like wheat products of whole grain or brown rice
Foods with oxalic acid like parsley, peanuts and chocolate

Tips for getting more Iron:

Listed below are few tips which work well for getting more iron from your food.

It is advisable not to consume foods that are rich in calcium along with foods that are rich in iron.
Cooking with a skillet of cast-iron
Avoid consuming foods rich in Vitamin C along with foods rich in iron.
Make sure you cook food for a short time.

You can consult a doctor if you need to take iron supplements as the above tips might not always be helpful if your iron deficiency is extreme.