🥩 Food of animal origin rich in heme iron (High absorption)

• Liver (of veal, pollo, pig)

• Red meat (veal, cordero)

• Turkey and chicken (especially thigh)

• Fish (Sardinas, tuna, salmon)

• Seafood (clams, mussels, cockle)

🌱 Food of plant origin rich in non-heme iron (lower absorption)

• Lentils

• Chickpeas

• Tofu

• Spinach

• chard

• Kale (kale)

• Pumpkin and sesame seeds

• dried fruits (almonds, anacardos, Pistachos)

• Avena

• Fortified whole grain breads and cereals

• cane molasses

Eating habits that help (The difficulty) iron absorption

✅Practical advice: Always combine foods rich in non-heme iron with sources of vitamin C to multiply its absorption. For example:

• Lentil salad + squeezed lemon

• Stir-fried tofu + red pepper

• Avena + strawberries, mandarin or kiwi

🚫 On the contrary, try avoid certain foods during the main meal, given that inhibit iron absorption:

• The coffee (tannins)

• Dairy (soccer)

• Red wine (polyphenols)

The solution is not to eliminate them, sino space them out in time: wait 1-2 hours to have that coffee after eating.

🍊 Foods rich in vitamin C. (To combine with the previous)

• Oranges, Mandarins, kiwis

• Strawberries

• Red and green peppers

• Broccoli

• raw tomato

• Lemon juice

✅🍳 Cooking techniques that favor iron

Some gestures in the kitchen can make a difference:

• ✅ Soak or germinate legumes and cereals: reduce fitatos (Iron inhibitors).

• ✅ Cooking with cast iron pans: It brings small amounts of iron to food, especially if they are acids (like tomato or lemon).

• ✅ Fermented vegetables: How Tempeh Miso, They decrease antinutrients and favor absorption.

• ❌ Avoid destroying vitamin C by cooking: Vitamin C is very sensitive to heat, so it is easily lost during cooking. To make the most of its effect, It is better to consume rich foods in this crude vitamin or add them at the end of the preparation. For example, You can add fresh peppers to a lentil salad or squeeze lemon juice on the plate just before serving.

Should I take iron supplements?

Before resorting to supplements, It can be interesting to assess whether your habits are the most appropriate and if with a slight change you can regulate iron levels.

In Laugan Getxo, We evaluate your individual case and help you recover your iron levels with personalized strategies. Because good nutrition should not be based on restrictions, but in informed decisions.

I leave you a couple of links that talk about the same 🤓:

📍 How to avoid anemia – NIH: National institute of health

📍​Iron in the diet – Medlineplus

Do you need help?

If you have symptoms like fatigue, Frequent weakness or dizziness, you could be facing one undiagnosed mild iron deficiency anemia. And with a few settings in your diet, You can recover your energy.

👉 Make your appointment in Laugan and discover how to adapt these tips to your diet and lifestyle.