Certain vegetables, including potatoes and leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and legumes, can help you achieve your necessary iron intake on a vegetarian diet.
Iron is a necessary nutrient for many bodily functions. Iron is found in either heme or non-heme forms: heme comes from animal products, and non-heme comes from plants.
An iron deficiency can cause low energy, breathlessness, headaches, irritability, dizziness, or anemia.
The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for males assigned at birth (MAAB) and females assigned at birth (FAAB) is about 8–18 milligrams (mg) of iron per day, depending on your age and sex.
Children and adolescents may need more or less depending on their age, and the amount you need can also vary from person to person. For people who are breastfeeding or pregnant, your needs increase to 9–27 mg per day.
The following tables include plant foods high in iron based on the standard 8 mg RDA for adults. If you are vegetarian and vegan, your RDA is 1.8 times higher (14.4–32.4 mg daily) because non-heme iron from plants doesn’t absorb as well as heme iron from animal products.
1. What legumes have the most iron?
Legumes, including beans, peas, and lentils, are great sources of iron.
Listed below are the varieties containing the most iron, from lowest to highest:
21 mg per cup dried (262% of RDA); 1.3 mg per 2 tablespoons (tbs) of tahini (16% of RDA)
Learn about the other nutritional advantages of seeds, nuts, and nut butter.
3. What vegetables are high in iron?
Vegetables often have higher iron content than meats and eggs, though non-heme iron is less easily absorbed. To maximize iron absorption, consume them cooked and with vitamin C-rich foods.
Tomatoes contain more iron when dried or concentrated, and potatoes have higher iron when unpeeled in their skins. Sweet potatoes offer a good amount of iron even when peeled.
The following vegetables and vegetable-derived products offer the most iron per serving:
Fruit is not commonly the food group that people turn to when wanting to increase the iron content of their diet. Nevertheless, some fruits are surprisingly high in iron.
Here are the best sources of iron in this category.
While whole grains have various health benefits, not all grains are equally beneficial.
For instance, grain processing and refining typically removes parts of the grain that contain fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals — including iron.
For this reason, whole grains typically contain more iron than refined grains. That said, most refined grain products are fortified with iron, so they can still be good sources.
The following are types of whole grains containing the most iron per portion.
Certain foods do not fit in one of the food groups above yet contain significant amounts of iron. Adding them to your diet can help you meet your recommended daily iron intake.
How can I increase iron absorption from plant foods?
Various strategies can help you increase your body’s ability to absorb non-heme iron. Here are the best-researched methods:
Eat vitamin C-rich foods: Consuming vitamin C-rich foods at the same time as foods rich in non-heme iron can help increase iron absorption.
Avoid coffee and tea with meals: Drinking coffee and tea can reduce iron absorption.
Soak, sprout, and ferment: Soaking, sprouting, and fermenting grains and legumes can improve iron absorption by lowering the amount of phytates naturally present in these foods.
Use a cast iron pan: Foods prepared in a cast iron pan may provide more iron than those prepared in non-iron cookware.
Consume lysine-rich foods: Plant foods like legumes and quinoa are rich in the amino acid lysine and may increase iron absorption.
Iron is a nutrient that’s essential for the human body. This mineral can be found in various foods, including many plant foods.
Besides being a good source of iron, the plant foods listed in this article also contain various other nutrients and beneficial plant compounds.
Thus, adding them to your diet will not only help you meet your iron requirements but will also likely benefit your overall health.
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