Are vegans at risk of iron deficiency?
 |
| Photo credit: Nadine Primeau @nadineprimeau @unsplash Are vegans at risk of iron deficiency? | @healthbiztips |
Are vegans at risk of iron deficiency?
@healthbiztps by Arlene Gentallan | health blog
It is known that the type of iron (called non-heme iron) found in plant sources are less absorbed by the human body compared to heme iron found in animal sources, which primarily raises the question of whether vegans get enough iron from their diet.
There are findings that reveal vegans have a higher occurrence of iron depletion compared to their meat-eating counterparts. Since plants contain chemicals like oxalate, polyphenols, and phytate which hinders gut absorption of iron, the RDA for iron is about 1.8 times higher for vegans than omnivores.
On the other hand, according to The Medical Journal of Australia: “Vegetarians who eat a varied and well balanced diet are not at any greater risk of iron deficiency anaemia than non-vegetarians.”
It is still possible to get an adequate iron intake from a vegan diet by consuming iron-rich plant sources such as beans, nuts, lentils, green leafy vegetables.
Iron rich plant sources includes:
- Almonds
- Cashew nuts
- Chickpeas
- Coconut milk
- Flaxseed
- Green peas
- Kale
- Kidney beans
- Lentils
- Macadamia nuts
- Oats
- Pile nuts
- Pistachio
- Potatoes
- Pumpkin seed
- Quinoa
- Sesame seed
- Soybeans
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Tofu
- Iron fortified bead, cereal, and grains
