How Can You Get More Iron From Foods?

There are two ways to get more iron out of your diet, says Dr. Debby Demory-Luce, a registered dietitian with the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine. First, you could eat more iron-rich foods, such as beef liver, lean meats, salmon, iron-fortified breakfast cereals, tofu, soybeans, dried beans, oatmeal, pumpkin and sesame seeds, spinach and enriched breads, rice and pasta. In addition, you could adopt a few of the following dietary "tricks" that give iron absorption a boost:

Eat a little meat when dining on iron-rich vegetables. Although the form of iron in plants isn't easily absorbed by humans, adding a bit of meat, such as a piece of grilled checken to bean burritos or a slice of marinated beef to a spinach salad, can significantly boost the iron "yield."

Add a good source of vitamin C to each meal. Top oatmeal with sliced strawberries, drink orange juice with iron-fortified cereal, toss red pepper strips into a whole-grain pasta dish or eat broccoli salad with a peanut-butter sandwich to pump up iron absorption.

Don't overdo tea and coffee beverages. Compounds called tannins found in tea and coffee tie up iron, reducing how much is absorbed.

- From the Kids' Nutrition Q&A, USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine

---

Courtesy of Texas Medical Center News

---

---

©2006 Texas Medical Center

---

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/health_briefs/03_15_00-space.html