Knowledge Base > Deb Kennedy, PhD - Culinary Medicine: Ask Me Almost Anything

Culinary Medicine: Ask Me Almost Anything

Deb Kennedy, PhD - Culinary Medicine: Ask Me Almost Anything

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Question:

What foods are good to eat for iron deficiency?

— Keya Pacheco

Answer:

So iron defi. So you have two forms of iron. You have what's called heme iron, which comes from meats like your beef. And you have non-heme iron that comes from plants and you can get as much as you need from non-heme plant-based sources of, of iron. And they are most likely they are your green leafy vegetables like spinach and Swiss chard. It's your white beans and lentils and your quinoa and rice and oats. I'm, if you see me looking down 'cause I'm reading from a list, uh, apricots and figs and what don't wanna leave anything out there are phytates, which is a chemical that is just found naturally in, in vegetables and the only thing you need to know about it is not, not healthy for you, but it inhibits the absorption of some iron. But if you're eating enough fruits and vegetables, you do not and whole grains, you do not have to worry about the phytates. That's just a small part. So I'm not a, I'm not sure if you're asking if you can get enough iron from animal, uh, from plant sources. The answer is yes. You can absolutely eat a variety of grains and vegetables, especially green leafy and a lot of legumes and you'll be, you'll be all set there. Okay? And the other thing about iron is vitamin C helps to absorb the iron. So if you have something that you're eating like spinach and maybe you put some lemon juice on it, you're gonna absorb the amount of iron in that and the acid's gonna help improve the taste of the spinach a twofer.
Deb Kennedy, PhD

Deb Kennedy, PhD

PhD Nutritionist

drdebkennedy.com