"Iron Rich Foods in Indian Diet: Nutrition Tips to Treat Iron Deficiency Naturally"

Iron is a micro-nutrient present in all food sources. Still why are Indians deficient in iron?

Let’s address this question of Iron deficiency in India in this blog

Introduction:

• The world health organization estimates about 25 % of the world population is anaemic

• Iron deficiency is one of the most common reasons for anaemia. About 50 % of the anaemic cases are due to iron deficiency

• In fact, Iron deficiency is the world’s most common nutritional deficiency

• Women of reproductive age are at a particular risk of iron deficiency anaemia.

Iron deficiency anaemia symptoms:

• Iron is very important for the synthesis of haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is important for oxygen transport to various tissues in our body. Due to lack of iron, haemoglobin levels decrease. This leads to fatigue as cells do not receive enough oxygen

• Poor concentration due to low supply of oxygen to the brain

• Shortness of breath

• Pica – craving to eat inedible materials such as ice cubes, clay etc  

• Restless leg syndrome

• Spooning of the fingers

• Angular cheilitis – cracking in the corners of the mouth

• Mouth ulcers

• Anaemia results in impaired mental development and physical growth, reduced school performance in adolescents

Diagnosis of iron deficiency anaemia:

• Low serum iron

• Low iron stores – low ferritin

• High transferrin

• High TIBC

• Low mean corpuscular volume (MCV) – the average size of RBC is less (microcytic anaemia)

• Hypochromic anaemia – the colour of the RBC is decreased due to lack of iron

Recommended Dietary allowance (RDA) for Iron:

• 8 mg daily for men

• 18 mg daily for women

• 27 mg daily during pregnancy

• 9 mg daily during lactation

• Females at reproductive age need more iron as compared to males due to menstrual blood loss

Heme vs non-heme iron:

• Dietary iron exists in two forms in the food. Heme iron and non-heme iron

• Heme iron is present in animal food sources

• Non heme iron is present in plant food sources

• Heme iron has iron in ferrous state whereas non-heme iron has iron in ferric state

• Heme iron is easily absorbed by the body as it exists in ferrous form.

• Non heme iron is not easily absorbed by the body.

• Non-heme iron exists in ferric form. It has to be reduced to ferrous form to easily get absorbed

Safety of heme vs non-heme iron:

• Heme iron is associated with risk of heart attacks, type 2 diabetes, inflammation and cancers

• Our intake of heme iron from animal sources has to be limited

• We need to increase the consumption of non-heme iron from plant sources (though there is limited absorption)

Dietary sources of heme iron:

• 100 gms of beef – 6.5 mg iron

• 100 gms of chicken – 1.3 mg iron

• 1 whole egg – 0.6 mg iron

  
  

 Iron rich foods in Indian diet helps address the problem:

Dietary sources of non-heme iron:

• 100 gms raw Spinach – 2.7 mg iron

• 30 gms uncooked Rajma – 2.46 mg iron

• 30 gms uncooked Chickpeas – 1.86 mg iron

• 30 gms uncooked lentils – 2.25 mg iron

• 30 gms uncooked cowpeas – 2.5 mg iron

• 100 gms tofu – 5.4 mg iron  

• 100 gms beet greens – 2.6 mg iron

• 100 gms bajra – 8 gms iron

• 28 gms of peanuts – 1.3 mg iron

• 28 gms of Pumpkin seeds – 0.9 mg iron

• 28 gms chia seeds – 2.2 mg iron

• 28 gms sesame seeds – 1.3 mg iron

• Non-heme iron is well distributed in plant sources such as beans, legumes, lentils, spinach, seeds, whole grains

  
  

• The key point to remember is non-heme iron is absorbed only in the presence of vitamin C

How to enhance non-heme iron absorption from plant sources:

• Absorption of non-heme iron absorption is greatly enhanced by vitamin C. vitamin C converts ferric form of iron to ferrous form

• Vitamin C – increases iron absorption by 300 %.  For example, sprinkling some lemon juice when consuming legumes/lentils, adding raw red capsicum salad in the diet, lemon water soaked with chia seeds

• Beta carotene – addition of carrots to the diet increases non-heme iron absorption

• Addition of allium family members garlic and onions in the diet. They are rich in sulphur containing amino acids that improves iron absorption. When having legumes, sprinkle some lemon juice and have with onions. Both raw and cooked garlic/onions have similar effect

Dietary inhibitors of non-heme iron absorption:

• Calcium is one of the major inhibitors of iron absorption. Both iron and calcium compete for the same sites in the intestinal cells

• Tea and coffee have tannins that inhibits iron absorption

• Non heme iron from plants is also complexed with phytates, inhibitors etc and is not easily absorbed as compared to heme iron.

• Oxalates in the green leafy vegetables inhibit iron absorption.

Practical tips for iron absorption from Indian diet:

Always combine iron rich foods with vitamin C

• Sprinkle some lemon juice when consuming dals, rajma, chickpeas curry, kichadi, green peas

• Sprinkle some lemon juice when consuming spinach dal

• Sprinkle some lemon juice when consuming bajra rotis

• Add some raw tomatoes or bell peppers in the salads

• Consume chia seeds soaked in lemon water

• Consume fruits sprinkled with pumpkin seeds

• Consume few black raisins or one date along with citrus fruits – amla/orange/lemon juice

• Have peanuts or peanut butter along with orange/strawberries

Cook green leafy vegetables:

• Cooking green leafy veggies such as spinach removes oxalates and make iron absorption easy

Soak pulses, beans and legumes:

• Pulses and legumes are one of the richest sources of non-heme iron. However, presence of phytates inhibits iron absorption. Soaking them overnight or for 6 hrs and pressure cooking them removes these inhibitors and make the iron absorption easy

Have a raw onion or carrot salad along with meals:

• Have some slices of carrots and raw onions along with lentil curry/ chickpeas curry / beans curry

Do not consume curd along with meals:

• Curd is rich in calcium and can interfere with iron absorption. Have curd or yogurt one hr post meals

Maintain atleast an hour gap between meals and tea/coffee:

• Tea/coffee can be consumed 1-2 hours post breakfast or lunch or dinner and not along with meals. They strongly interfere with iron absorption

Summary:

• Iron is abundant in both animal and plant sources

• Animal sources heme iron whereas plant sources have non-heme iron

• Though absorption of heme iron is good, the consumption has to be limited as its associated with many chronic diseases

• Non-heme iron from plant sources is not absorbed easily and is one of the main reasons why Indians are deficient in iron

• Spinach, legumes (rajma/chole), lentils, seeds, nuts and tofu are one of the richest sources of non-heme iron

• Combining-plant-based iron rich foods (non-heme iron) with vitamin C increases iron absorption by 300%

• Non heme iron foods should not be paired with calcium rich foods, tea or coffee as they inhibit iron absorption

Top Iron-Rich Foods in Indian Diet to Fight Anaemia

Fig: Spinach, or rajma when combined with lemon is a powerful combination for boosting non-heme iron absorption

“For a personalized diet plan to manage iron deficiency or other health concerns, contact Dr Tejaswini, a leading nutritionist at Telomere Health Clinic — rated among the best nutrition clinics in Pune. Call us at [9373391799 ] to book an appointment.”