How red wine counts towards your iron intake

The number of Britons switching to a plant-based diet has almost doubled in a decade, but some experts believe these diets are contributing to low iron levels.

In fact, almost half of girls aged 11 to 18 have a critically low intake of the mineral, due in part to a drop in red meat consumption in recent years, said Professor Ian Givens, director of the Food Institute , Nutrition and Health at the University of Reading. , he told him at a press conference recently.

Teenage girls get only about half of the recommended 14.8 mg of iron a day, while older women fare slightly better, according to figures from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey.

The data suggests that women’s iron intake has dropped by around half a milligram between 2008 and 2019, coinciding with the period when vegan diets became popular.

Iron helps us make red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. Low iron intake, which is found in higher levels in meat and fish, but also in green leafy vegetables, eggs and legumes, can lead to anemia, irregular heartbeat, hair loss, concentration problems and bad memory.

Women lose some iron during menstruation, so they need more than men, who require 8.7mg a day (although figures suggest men don’t get the recommended daily amounts either). Our collective lack of iron is thought to be related to the popularity of low-calorie or restrictive diets, as fewer iron-rich foods are accumulated in general. Veganism is problematic because animal sources (meat or eggs, for example) of iron are better absorbed than plant sources.

“It’s possible that people who eat a plant-based diet get enough iron,” says dietitian Helen Bond. “Eating a variety of grains, vegetables, nuts and legumes will help meet your needs, while including foods rich in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, will help increase iron absorption from plant sources.”

Here, he suggests simple and surprising ways to get your daily iron. For each food, the percentage of the daily iron recommendation is listed, using the female recommendation of 14.8 mg per day, so mix and match to get to 100 percent.

pork liver

120g serving, 16.7mg

In addition to being an enormously rich source of iron, this serving of liver will also provide all of your daily zinc (needed for healthy immunity, skin, and reproductive health) and more than two-thirds of your daily selenium, an antioxidant associated with lower risk of heart disease. However, the liver should not be consumed during pregnancy.

pea puree

150g, 1.95mg

Peas are iron-rich legumes, and in a half-can serving of mushy peas you’ll get nearly 2 mg of the mineral. (Fresh frozen peas have even more, but you tend to serve yourself a smaller portion.)

This serving of mushy peas also provides 15 percent of your daily requirement for zinc, which is necessary for immune and reproductive health.

tofu

100g sauteed, 3.5mg

Tofu is a curd that is made by coagulating soymilk, a process that concentrates the iron found in the soybeans used to make the milk.

A 100g serving of sautéed tofu provides as much iron as a small steak, and this serving also provides one-sixth of your daily magnesium, which is needed for healthy bones, nerves, and muscles.

cheerleaders

60g bowl with milk, 7.6mg

A suggested serving size for Cheerios is 30g, but research from 2021 found that people typically serve twice as much.

A 60 g bowl of fortified Cheerios has more than half of your daily iron, plus two-thirds of your daily calcium when consumed with milk.

Note that you also get 22 g of sugar with this breakfast, 73 percent of your daily limit.

cashew nuts

30g, 1.86mg

All nuts contain iron, but cashews are the richest in this mineral, followed by hazelnuts and almonds, which have about half this amount.

A 30-g serving of cashews also provides 6.2 g of protein (about the same as a boiled egg), one-fifth of a woman’s daily requirement for magnesium, and one-fourth of a woman’s daily zinc requirement (one-fifth of a man’s). man).

2 poached eggs on toast

4mg

Two poached eggs on whole-grain toast provide more than a quarter of your daily iron. Egg yolks contain the most iron, and poached, boiled, or fried eggs contain the same amount.

Whole wheat bread also contributes about 1 mg of iron per slice.

dried apricots

Six apricots, 1.97 mg

Drying the fruit concentrates its mineral content by removing water, and six dried apricots provide more than an eighth of your daily iron needs, along with a quarter of your daily blood pressure-regulating potassium.

Unlike the fresh variety, dried apricots only have trace amounts of vitamin C, so eat with a good source of this nutrient, such as berries, to absorb more iron.

Canned sardines in tomato sauce

120g can, 3.2mg

A can of sardines in tomato sauce contains more than a fifth of your daily iron, most of it from the fish, but some from the tomato puree. This choice will also provide two-thirds of your daily calcium, which is found in the edible bones of the fish.

dried marjoram

1 teaspoon, 0.8mg

Just a teaspoon of this dried herb, sprinkled on a vegetarian pizza or used to spice up a serving of roasted vegetables, is an easy way to get one-sixteenth of your daily iron needs, plus supply vitamin C to help the mineral . absorption.

Mixed dried herbs, which typically contain a high proportion of marjoram, are the next best thing and will provide you with 5 percent of your daily iron per teaspoon.

Pappadums

Three fried (36g), 1.59mg

The flour at Pappadums is made from iron-rich lentils, and three will provide more than a tenth of your daily needs.

But with 60 calories in each, eat instead of an entree. Microwave them at home for a healthier option. Fill it with tomato chutney to boost the antioxidant lycopene, linked to a lower risk of heart disease.

Green & Black’s 70& Cocoa

30g, 2.9mg

A small amount of dark chocolate can increase iron intake, as cocoa is rich in this mineral. Cocoa beans also contain antioxidants that help keep blood vessels flexible.

A 30g serving of Green & Black 70% Cocoa Chocolate has 174 calories and just over two teaspoons of sugar (29% of your daily limit), making it a treat you can have every day.

Red wine

250ml, 2.25mg

Grape skin provides iron, and red wine has 15 percent of what you need per large glass.

But the heart-friendly polyphenols (plant-based compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions) in red wine can reduce iron absorption, so don’t rely on red wine as your main source of iron.

This serving counts as three and a half units of alcohol; the recommended limit of alcohol consumption is 14 units per week.

baked beans

415g can, 5.89mg

Baked beans are an easy and tasty way to get your daily iron—one can provides about 40 percent.

As with all non-animal sources of iron, absorption is enhanced by vitamin C, so serve with a large handful of watercress. This serving also counts as one of your five a day.

kale

80g, 1.36mg

An 80g serving of raw kale in a salad provides 50% more iron than a boiled egg (boiled kale, due to iron leaching, has less, but you’ll typically eat a larger serving).

Kale also has a good serving of calcium for healthy bones: one-eighth of the recommended amount in this serving, plus almost half of your daily needs for folate, which is needed for a healthy immune system.

Licorice assortments

Five sweets, 2.3 mg

Licorice extract, which comes from the licorice root, is rich in iron, and in five of these treats you’ll get 15 percent of your daily iron.

Don’t exceed this serving, however, as it also comes with 19g of added sugar, more than half the daily limit, which contributes to dental problems, obesity and diabetes.

Chips

200g baked, 1.44mg

Potatoes are an underrated source of iron, found primarily in the skin. But a 200g serving of crisps will provide you with a tenth of your daily needs. There’s also about a quarter of your daily fiber, good for growing healthy gut bacteria.

French fries contain minimal vitamin C, so serve them with peas to increase iron absorption.