Vegetables And Fruits With Iron

The importance of iron in vegetables and fruits can never be discounted. The necessity of iron rests in its function of carrying oxygen around the body. Just like our body cannot survive without oxygen, there are plenty of foods that we cannot live without. These foods are known as “LIFE-GIVING”.

Fruits and vegetables that have no iron include:

Bananas

Cabbage

Mushrooms

Yellow Squash

Vegetables high in iron include:

Beets (cooked)

Kale (cooked)

Spinach (cooked)

Swiss chard (cooked)

Vegetables and fruits with no iron

Vegetables and fruits are naturally low in iron. The best vegetable sources of iron include:

Beets

Spinach

Sweet potatoes

Strawberries

Raspberries

Blackberries

Cherries

Pears

Apricots

Plums

Oranges (with the peel)

There are some fruits and vegetables that do not contain any iron. These include:

Artichokes

Beets

Carrots

Corn (grilled)

Lettuce (raw)

Mushrooms (raw)

Potatoes (baked)

Spinach (cooked)

Tomatoes (cooked)

The best vegetables and fruits for iron are leafy vegetables, such as spinach and kale, and dried fruit. However, most vegetables and fruits contain some amount of iron.

Vegetables that are high in iron include:

Beets

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Carrots

Collard greens

Cucumbers

Kale (1 cup) provides 2 mg of iron; that’s 10% of the daily value.*

Leafy greens, like spinach (1 cup) and Swiss chard (1 cup), are also good sources of iron.*

Melons are another excellent source of vitamin C, which is needed to absorb non-heme iron found in plant foods (the kind found in plants is called non-heme).* They also have a lot of water content which helps keep you hydrated while you’re getting your daily dose of veggies!* Fruits high in vitamin C include:

Iron is a mineral that is needed to make red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the body’s tissues and organs.

Iron deficiency can cause anemia, which is when your blood doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen through your body. Anemia symptoms include fatigue, dizziness and shortness of breath.

You can get iron from many foods, including meat, seafood, poultry and beans.

The following fruits and vegetables have no iron:

Artichoke

Asparagus

Avocado

Banana

Beet greens

Blueberries

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage (raw)

Carrot (raw)

Cauliflower (raw)

Celery (raw)

Chickpeas (cooked)**TIP: Chickpeas are also high in calcium, so try to eat them with a calcium-rich food. For example, pair them with quinoa or add them to your salad along with some spinach or arugula. Or enjoy hummus as a snack! Chickpeas also contain protein and fiber, so they’ll keep you feeling full for longer.

Here’s a list of some of the best sources of iron.

Cauliflower, broccoli and rutabaga are all cruciferous vegetables that are low in iron. The same goes for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, spinach and others. Onions are also low in iron.

The following vegetables contain significant amounts of iron:

Watercress – 1 cup (packed) has 2 mg.

Spinach – 1 cup (cooked) has 2 mg.

Collard greens – 1 cup (cooked) has 2 mg.

Potatoes – 1 potato has 1 mg.

Beets – 1 beet has 0.6 mg.

Fruits and vegetables with no iron

In general, fruits and vegetables have no iron. However, there are some exceptions. If a food is dark green or purple in color, it’s usually a good source of iron. For example, spinach has a lot of iron because it’s dark green in color. But if a food is white or yellow, it probably has very little iron.

Some people don’t eat meat because they’re concerned about their health or the environment. But it’s important to get enough iron from your diet each day. You can get iron from plant-based sources like beans and tofu, but they may not be as easy to digest as animal sources like red meat.

Fruits and vegetables with iron

Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of iron, but they contain very little of the mineral. In fact, you would have to eat a lot of spinach or romaine lettuce to get enough iron from these foods. For example, one cup of cooked spinach has 2 milligrams (mg) of iron, while 1 cup of cooked romaine lettuce has only 0.2 mg.

Leafy greens like spinach and romaine lettuce don’t have much iron because they’re good at absorbing it from soil. If you eat them raw, you can get an uptick in your daily intake because cooking leaches out some of the minerals that are already in these foods.

The following is a list of fruits and vegetables high in iron:

Vegetables

Spinach — 1 cup cooked contains 6 percent DV (Daily Value) for men and 5 percent DV for women; there’s no difference between fresh or frozen spinach

Collard greens — 1 cup cooked contains 6 percent DV for both men and women; there’s no difference between fresh or frozen collard greens

Beet greens — 1 cup cooked contains 4 percent DV for both men and women; there’s no difference between fresh or frozen beet greens