This site is intended for healthcare professionals

account_circleSign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Dietary advice on foods rich in iron

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

The two forms of dietary irons (heme and nonheme) are supplied by a variety of sources. Most dietary irons are non heme irons (1).

  • heme iron
    • found in animal foods that contain haemoglobin
    • e.g. - chicken liver, oyster, beef, clams
  • non heme iron
    • found in plant foods
    • e.g. - lentils, soybeans, spinach
    • is the form of iron added to iron-enriched and iron-fortified foods (1)

Lentils contain more protein and iron than beef or lamb.

Other foods rich in iron include:

  • hazelnuts
  • apricots
  • whole rice
  • spinach
  • prunes

Vitamin C helps iron absorption.

Iron absorption is decreased by:

  • antacids
  • tetracyclines
  • phosphates
  • phytates - for example, in chapati flour

Reference:

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page