March 11 2017News
Time to get your daily iron.
Are you feeling fatigued, tired or constantly suffering from a lack of energy; then perhaps, like many others, you are suffering from a lack of iron in your diet. Insufficient iron can make it harder to concentrate and maintain motivation, as well as causing feelings of fatigue even after receiving a decent nights sleep. An iron deficiency can be caused by many factors, and is extremely common amongst women. Often, you don’t recognise your iron deficiency and put it down to lack of sleep or stress.
The recommended daily intake (RDI) varies, but for adult men 8mg is suggested while adult women between 19-50 years of age require 18mg of iron. While women over 50 the RDI is 8mg. So how can you increase your iron? Having animal based iron is always a great source of iron, as it absorbs much easier into the blood stream; However, iron can also be absorbed through a lot of plant-based sources that you can easily incorporate into your meals. Check out the list below of sources of iron as suggested by Nutrition Australia;
– Kidney beans
– Green lentils
– Tofu
– Chickpeas
– Cashew nuts
– Raw spinach
– Rolled oats
– Dried apricots
– Broccoli
– Cooked brown rice
Sesame Seeds, Black beans, Kale and Peas are also sources of iron, so why not add some of these into your salad at lunch, or try our porridge made from whole rolled oats, and add some dried fruit for your breakfast.
It is also good to note, that iron is not easily absorbed on its own and should be eaten with foods rich in vitamin C. Other tips for iron absorption include cooking your plant-based foods and avoiding coffee or tea while directly consuming a source of iron.
For more information visit Nutrition Australia at www.nurtritionaustralia.org, or consult your doctor or a dietician on how to increase you nutritional iron intake.