Iron Rich Vegan Foods Tier List (BEST & WORST SOURCES)
In this video I rank the top iron rich plant based foods from best to worst sources! I also give you tips on how to increase iron absorption from the food you eat.
If you have low iron or suspect that you are deficient definitely speak to a doctor and get a blood test. It is very difficult to bring your levels up when you are deficient from food alone. Supplementation is likely necessary until levels are higher.
It is entirely possible to get enough iron as a vegan from plant foods alone, you just have to know what foods to be eating.
Let me know in the comments if you think I missed any that should have been in there or if you think some deserved a different ranking.
Thanks for watching!
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You’re dead-on about macro- and micronutrients in plant-based eating coming down to having a varied diet and making sure you eat enough. I’ve had many friends and coworkers throughout the years with this or that deficiency as vegetarians or vegans because they’d have an unhealthy relationship to food or otherwise have very restricted eating habits and portion sizes without concrete fitness or athletic performance goals. Food is what literally keeps you alive, folks, we have to eat! Might as well make your meals something you enjoy.
Yes, I spread my food throughout the day and never deny myself of anything. I don’t count my protein grams and don’t have to because I know that eating what I do provides, on average, all of the protein I need. If I start lifting weights, I add a daily smoothie using vegan organic “Garden of Life Meal” to a glass of Ripple or Forager plant based milk. Just those two ingredients provides an additional 28 grams of protein & micronutrients. All of this has become second nature, including my eating one each of every organic fruit or vegetable that I have in the house first each day. I also casually intermittently fast for a day here or there and the science all says this is amazing for you longterm. I grow my own organic greens at home using an inside 6-level Farmstand with glow rings and I’m about to add a second for more daily greens. I’m planning to put in potted organic fruit trees and covered raised beds of vegetables as soon as I move back to California. I hope people think about growing more of their own organic vegan food at home. It’s the best way to go for infinite reasons.
Agreed!
You have to try Tabbouleh, the best salad, it will change your opinion on parsley being simply a herb to sprinkle dishes with…
I have had it before and love it! I should make it..
@@Simnettnutrition I went shopping today with the idea of making it, and I forgot to buy parsley🙃
bar and a half of chocolate to get 11.9 milligrams of Iron? light work. ill never have to worry about my iron. ever.
Dark chocolate is delicious but they also are high in heavy metals…so either buy ones that are heavy metal tested or reduce the amount you’re ingesting..
@@scienceislove2014 great point! i get a specialized purified and organic one for that very reason!
I also went for dark chocolate (along with other things) but I have read that foods rich in polyphenols (and caffeine) affect absorption rates. Does anyone know more about this?
Wheatgrass powder, 2mg in 1tsp. Barley grass juice powder, 1.76mg in 1tsp. Easily added to smoothies.
I use barley grass most days as well. Very alkaline.
@@vegangreatlifeme too!!!
+moringa 4mg per 10g
Just a fun Fact:
If you would eat 1900 calories in green Salads you would get 152 mg of Iron
And all the other nutrients apart from B12, D and Omega 6 in absolute insane amounts including 190 grams of protein 550% of calcium and 1400% of Vitamin C and 18-THOUSAND % of Vitamin K to just mention a few.
1900 calories would be 11 Kilograms of Salad
1900 calories in a green salas is a forest worth of veg!!
sweet non-heme iron which absorbed at around 5%
@@KK-lg8uz and that is only one advantage of plants.
@@xperience-evolution poor bioavailability is an advantage.. advantage over what? What are the other advantages?
@@xperience-evolution still waiting
Quite a comprehensive list! Apparently dried apricots are also pretty good source of iron, as well as raisins.
Yeah they are so many foods with some iron in them, dried fruits for sure! I had to keep the list somewhat short so the video wasn’t an hour long haha
@@Simnettnutrition absolutely😄
I had no idea about dried apricots – thanks!!
Went in for an annual checkup and the Doctor was very surprised that I was not deficient in anything and was very shocked that he couldn’t prescribe me any pills!! On the check in paperwork they ask if you are following any type of diet and of course I checked the box for plant based. He was very skeptical and couldn’t understand why I was in such great health until he asked me what I was doing. Eating a variety of plant foods and even some vegan alternatives with moderate exercise can be a game changer get it??👈💚🌱💪✌️
Doctors aren’t nutritionists. Don’t ask their non expert opinions of foods and nutrition.
One of the smartest I have ever done is subscribing to your channel.
Hey thanks, I’m happy you’re here.
I have been vegan for seven years. Last year, I went to give blood and was turned down because my iron levels were a bit too high! When I was a meat eater, I was turned down for the opposite. Greens made the difference. 💜
That happened to me. As a meat eater I was sometimes rejected as a blood donor. As a vegan I was never rejected for donation. Weird.
Awesome!
Thank you for sharing @donnellallan, very interesting, I also had the same effect of having upper limit iron levels when followed plant based nutrition. As I child my hemoglobin was super low and I was struggling a lot. Thought I was alone in this. Great to know that healthy nutrition ensures our red blood cells are abundant and supply the needed oxygen to the cells 🤩
Same here! I used to have anemia when eating meat, and I ate a loooot!). Now, 3 years vegan and my iron has never been this high. Much higher than a lot of my meat-eating or vegetarian friends and family members.
@skymoni1582 ,and how many people would advise us to “go eat a steak” to get our iron up? Hopefully, the day will come when the go-to advice will be to consume a bowl of kale, right? 😊
16:23 It depends on the brand!!! 🤣 The organic blackstrap molasses you get at whole foods or the versions you get at farmer’s markets are higher in calcium and iron than those you get in the baking aisle at Walmart. I’m talking about 10% differences. Also, through experimentation, I found that blackstrap molasses forms a savory trifecta with balsamic vinegar and tamari. Add alliums, miso, mushrooms, brown sugar, and parsley for the best vegan ramen base ever! 🤤
From what I’ve heard, it should be unsulphured.
@@HillLeeHill Yes, definitely unsulphured, but I think that would be the default for most organic ones. Still check the different brands and the individual nutrition labels.
Cooked Teff is a really good source of iron. The grain is so freaking tiny that u can eat a lot of it. I either eat it as a porridge or I get some Ethiopian food with Injera (which is made from Teff)
Derek, as usual, awesome comprehensive presentation. I live over in Vancouver, 75, on chemo, and heart wonky from the cocktail. Send a kind thought to me, please. I’ve enjoyed your videos for the last year or so. You and Crystal can be completely hilarious without trying. Need your up beat input! And kitties! Kathy
Sending you lots of love! Thanks for watching 🙂
💞
I laughed when you talking about blackstrap molasses. Well as a 70 year old, I remember having molasses with bread & butter. Truthfully, I have some in my fridge right now. I haven’t used it for quite a while, but my husband loves it and every once in a while he’ll dive in. Just wanting to share because of you I use tahini for my salads every day and never touch oils Thank you for all your information. Enjoy your videos again thank you.👍❤️🙂
I don’t feel like this video is getting enough hype. These type of videos are so helpful!
Thanks, man, even before I started eating a plant-based diet I had chronic, sub-clinical anaemia. I appreciate you folks’ work.
These types of videos are just genius.The Plant based information you provided via your channel Derek is truly incredible.
I love you’re channel, bro ❤
Thank you, Derek! Exactly what I needed after blood test showing low iron… practical info I can use! You are the best!
Great finisher! Showing a simple vegan meal that gives you 100% of your iron needs! That is a slam dunk I can use for when people start pecking at me about my iron levels, just after I have batted away the protein question and followed up by asking THEM if they are getting enough vitamins and minerals in their diet. Hahahahahahahahaha! Canadian supermarkets look amazing in terms of variety, although expensive for sure. I live in Spain so hard to get a lot of stuff at ordinary small town supermarkets. To get kale, for instance I have to travel to find a French-owned hypermarket like Carrefour. I guess I need to start growing my own. I really have no excuses. Thanks Derek as ever for all your hard work. Your videos keep us all sane as we navigate daily through a horribly carnivorous world.
As a vegan who became iron deficient I always felt so bad trying to explain to people that the reason I was deficient wasn’t because I was vegan- it was because I wasn’t eating a proper amount of food in general. I’m doing so much better now that I’m independent from my parents and have my own kitchen. Loved the tier list!