9 Foods With More Iron Than A Handful Of Spinach - Tasting Table

"Whoever has been behind promoting spinach has done a great job. Even if you didn't grow up watching Popeye, spinach has become inexorably linked with a high iron content. Spinach is rich in iron, with a large handful of leaves (around 100 grams) providing 2.7 mg of iron. The Food and Nutrition Board recommends a daily iron goal of 8 mg for men and 18 mg for women. If you're a man who likes spinach, this goal is going to be very easy to hit."

"Combining different sources of iron, rather than just trying new spinach recipes, can also be beneficial for efficient absorption. Iron comes in two forms, heme (from animal sources) and non-heme (from plant sources). Heme iron, found in beef and other proteins, is more easily absorbed by the body than non-heme iron, but eating the two together can increase the amount of usable iron in the non-heme source, such as spinach."

"If you're thinking the sprinkling of sesame seeds on your burger bun can't possibly help you reach your iron goals, you're probably right. But sesame seeds have plenty of creative uses, from spicy sesame beef and a coating for fish to the key ingredient in sesame brittle candy. If you reach the recommended serving size of 3 tablespoons (1 ounce) of sesame seeds, you'll be getting a respectable 4 mg of iron."

Spinach provides about 2.7 mg of iron per 100 grams, representing a useful plant-based iron source. Daily iron recommendations are about 8 mg for men and 18 mg for women. Iron occurs as heme (animal) and non-heme (plant) forms, with heme iron absorbed more efficiently by the body. Consuming heme and non-heme sources together increases usable iron from plant foods. Pairing iron-rich foods with vitamin C or vitamin A enhances absorption. Sesame seeds supply roughly 4 mg of iron per ounce and have versatile culinary uses. Tofu, made from soybeans, offers about 6.6 mg of iron per half-cup.

Read at Tasting Table