Are you worried about your iron intake and wondering if iron in your diet is enough or not? If that's the case, then this article has a solution for you.

For the healthy functioning of your body, iron plays a vital role. It carries oxygen and supplies it throughout your body.

In this article, I'll discuss the iron requirements in your body, depending on your gender. Plus, I'll also shed light on the foods that need to be included in your diet to fulfill your iron needs.

So, let's begin!

What Are Your Iron Requirements Depending Upon Your Age And Gender

Everyone doesn't need the same amount of iron. Instead, iron needs can differ depending on your gender, age, and other factors. So, here we are going to describe how much iron you need depending on your body's needs.

For Children

Children of age between 7-12 months need 11 mg of iron. And the kids aged 1-3 years need 7 mg of iron. Moreover, kids aged 4-8 years need 10 mg of iron.

For Females

Here are the details about the quantity of iron females need:

So, it shows that iron in diet during pregnancy should be more.

For Males

Now, let's discuss the iron required for males.

Which Foods Are Best For Iron Intake?

If you aim to live a healthy life, then you need to ensure that your diet has an adequate amount of iron. Therefore, it's important to know about the foods that are enriched in iron. If you are non-veg, then it will be easy to fulfill your iron needs because iron from the meat gets absorbed easily.

Comparatively, when you eat plant-based foods, they will not absorb easily. So you need to eat them with some other food that absorbs iron well.

So, here are the details about foods you should eat for getting iron in your diet:

ShellFish

One of the best foods that you can eat to get iron is shellfish. It's immensely delicious and has a good amount of nutrients in it. However, all shellfish are excellent sources of iron. But some of the best sources include clams, oysters, and mussels. The iron found in shellfish is heme iron, so your body can absorb it easily. You also need to keep in consideration some types of fish that also contain mercury and toxins. So be careful.

Spinach

A good source of getting iron in your diet for vegetarians is spinach. And the good thing is that it has vitamin C as well. So, although it's non-heme, it can get absorbed in your body. Most importantly, it has low calories, so you don't need to worry about your calorie intake.

Liver And Other Organ Meats

Organ meat is also highly nutritious, and you should consider adding it to your diet. Some organ meat that can prove good for your health include the brain, kidney, liver, and heart.

Legumes

Another fantastic option for vegetarians is indeed the legumes. Some legume options you can consider are peas, soybeans, lentils, and chickpeas. To improve the absorption, you need to eat it with tomatoes or other citrus fruits.

Red Meat

Red meat is one of the best sources of heme iron. And the best thing is that it also has some other nutrients, such as zinc, protein, selenium, and vitamin B.

How to Know That You Have Iron Deficiency

When you have iron deficiency, your body will feel weak. And running your daily errands will become a daunting task. So, you must know the symptoms of iron deficiency in your body. So, you can go for a tailored diet to fulfill iron or supplements. Plus, you also need to know that if your iron deficiency or anemia is mild, then you might have no symptoms.

Here are the symptoms of iron deficiency:

• Feeling tired or weak
• Getting more headaches
• Loss of appetite
• Irritability
• Issues with thinking
• Numbness
• Tingling

But if it gets severe, symptoms will be different. And here we are going to enlist those symptoms:

• Appearance of blue color to your skin's whites
• Strong urge to eat non-food things
• Pale skin color
• Rapid heartbeat
• Mild fever

Should I Take Iron Supplements?

If your iron requirements are not getting fulfilled by the diet, then you might be thinking of going for supplements. But prior to that, you need to keep in mind a few things.

Firstly, always consult your doctor and never take any medicine without their recommendation. Most importantly, if you have any underlying health issues or you're pregnant or nursing mother, then you need to be more conscious.

It is also pertinent to mention here that it's normal to get some health-related issues after taking these supplements. Always keep in mind that everyone's body is different. So, the effect of supplements is also different.

Some problems that you might go through after consuming supplements include diarrhea, constipation, and nausea. And if more than the required iron gets stored in your body, then it might start damaging your internal parts.

Plus, it is also important to mention here that some foods can affect calcium absorption in your body, such as coffee and tea. So, be careful and never take them before taking your supplements.

Which Type of Iron Is More Absorbent?

So, if your body does not have enough iron, then you will have to either fulfill your needs with good food or supplements. You might be thinking that I should go for animal-based foods or plant-based foods. So, the better option is animal-based iron, as its absorption rate is faster.

Final Thoughts

To wrap up the discussion about iron in your diet, I must say that it's extremely important to know the amount of iron your body needs. Once you know how much iron you need, then it becomes easy to fulfill your requirements by adding food filled with iron to your diet.

Especially if you are pregnant, then iron in diet during pregnancy should obviously be more. So, know about the iron in the diet benefits and always fulfill your iron needs for optimal health.