Foods high in iron

There are two different forms of dietary iron: the most easily absorbed iron (known as heme iron) exists in animal tissues such as beef and pork. The other form of iron (known as non-heme) iron only exists in plant foods such as beans and some vegetables. 

 

Children daily iron needs for ages one to three is 7 mg of iron per day. Depending on the food, your child could get his daily requirement of iron in one serving (for example, three ounces of lean beef has 2 to 3 mg of iron, one slice of whole-wheat bread has 1 mg, and 6oz x ½ inch slice of watermelon has 3mg). It’s important to mention that both sources of iron are worth eating.  In fact, heme iron helps improve the absorption of non-heme iron, thus eating food sources of both forms of iron in one meal (like beef and whole-wheat bread) is ideal. 

 

Very Good Sources of Iron

• Beef, pork
• Beef or chicken liver
• Cooked beans (pinto, garbanzo, kidney, lima, black, lentils)
• Beans cooked with low fat meat
• Cooked oysters
• Breakfast cereal with added iron

Good Sources of Iron

• Chicken and turkey
• Fish, canned tuna, shrimp, clams
• Tofu
• Corn or flour tortillas- enriched
• Rice or pasta- enriched
• Green leafy vegetables (spinach, chard, collards, parsley, cilantro)
• Peas, snow peas
• Prune juice, dried fruit
• Hummus
• Peanut butter