Iron is a mineral that your body needs in order to maintain a healthy blood system. Iron is a key component in hemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Because iron is an essential mineral in blood production, iron deficiency can lead to detrimental effects such as anemia - a condition in which blood lacks an adequate level of healthy red blood cells. When iron levels are low, you may experience a lack of focus, increased irritability, and reduced stamina.
Iron can be found in a variety of foods such as shellfish, spinach, liver, legumes, pumpkin seeds and red meat. Iron from dietary sources comes in two main forms: heme and nonheme. Plants and iron-supplemented foods only contain nonheme iron, whereas animal based products can contain either or both forms. Heme iron is more readily available and easily absorbed by the body but overconsumption poses serious health risks.
What Is The Recommended Daily Amount of Iron?
While iron has a “safe” upper limit of 40-45mg per day, we use a gentle dose of 8mg to ensure that you are getting no more than what you need for optimal health. When consuming doses higher than 45mg, one becomes at risk for iron toxicity which can cause gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, vomiting, and pain. Men are particularly at risk considering that the average male in the US consumes significantly more iron than recommended (10-15 the recommended amount). This can have adverse side effects on men’s reproductive health so adhering to the daily recommended dosage is particularly important for men!
What Vegan Foods Are Rich In Iron?
Fortunately, those following a plant-based diet can still meet daily iron requirements by eating sufficient non-heme rich plant foods such as dark leafy greens, whole grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruit and legumes. Non-heme sources of iron can meet a vegan’s nutritional needs without posing risk to our health since our bodies can better control the absorption of nonheme iron as compared to heme iron from animal-based sources.
Although plant-based foods contain iron in a form that is less available to the body, there are ways in which vegans can enhance the absorption of nonheme iron such as consuming vitamin C alongside these iron-rich plants. That’s one of the reasons we decided to include Vitamin C in the formulation of our Multivitamin for Vegans.
Why Vegans May Need To Supplement Their Iron Intake
Considering there is a lesser degree of bioavailability of plant-based iron, vegans may need to ensure that sufficiency is prioritized. Nonheme iron, found in plant-sources, is around 1/2 as bioavailable as heme iron which is found in animal sources. Research into the iron levels of vegans showed that female vegans are particularly prone to iron-deficiency and anemia when compared to omnivores. This is especially true during times of menstruation when women lose a lot of iron. Additionally, endurance athletes lose iron through sweat and repetitive motions of their muscles. Thus, iron supplementation for women and athletes that follow a plant-based diet is especially pertinent.