Food: 10 Iron Rich Food You Can Take On This Vegan Journey

FOOD: 10 Iron Rich Food You Can Take On This Vegan Journey
The best sources of iron are animal-based foods, just like Protein, especially red meat and offal (such as liver), chicken, duck, pork, turkey, eggs and fish. But does that mean Vegans have iron deficiency? Of course not. There are over 50 foods one can take as a Vegan that will help one attain the daily nutritional requirement of this mineral needed for the essential wellness of the blood and other blood-related body systems.
As we did promise to help you with all you need to know about Veganism, we brought you 10 Protein-Rich Foods For Vegans last Friday, and today, we are moving to the Iron-rich foods. So, in case someone tells you Vegans do not eat Protein or other nutrients/minerals because they do not eat animal foods, you can feed them from your knowledge. You also can be sure of the diet journey you are going on, knowing all you need to know about what you can eat to get what nutrients and minerals.
  1. White Beans, Soybeans, Peas and Lentils
  2. Whole grains such as Oatmeals, Cornmeals and Rice
  3. Green Vegetables: spinach, jute leaves (Ewedu), Pumpkin leaves (Ugwu) and other vegetables

  4. Tomato Paste: raw tomatoes contain very little of this mineral but when dried or concentrated, they offer a much greater amount
  5. Potatoes: these contain significant amounts of this mineral, mostly concentrated in their skins.
  6. Nuts and Seeds: such as Hazelnuts, Cashew nuts, Peanuts, Groundnuts, Pumpkin seeds, Sesame seeds, Hemp and Flaxseeds or any other nut/seeds.

  7. Dark chocolate
  8. Tofu (Wara)
  9. Fresh Fruits
  10. Dried Fruits such as Apricots and Dates.

Bonus: Tips to increase the body’s ability to absorb iron from non-animal foods well.
Eat vitamin C-rich foods: Consuming vitamin C-rich foods together with foods rich in iron may increase the absorption of the mineral by up 300%.
Avoid coffee and tea with meals: Drinking coffee and tea with meals can reduce the mineral absorption by 50-90%. Don’t take them together.
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 pans/pots tend to provide two to three times more of the mineral as those prepared in non-iron cookware.
Dark Chocolate. Photos Credit: Getty

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