Where do you get your iron?

Lentils are a great source of iron!!!  Make a yummy lentil stew, lentil salad, or lentil pate.

A friend of mine went home for her first vegan holiday and was confronted by some family members on how pale she looked :S  She was wondering how iron played into this and how she could increase her iron intake as a macro veg.


Why is iron intake so important?
Iron is a part of all cells and does many things in our bodies like carrying oxygen from our lungs throughout our bodies and increasing enzymes to help our bodies digest foods.  When our bodies do not have enough iron, many parts of our bodies are affected and we can become anemic.  


What are some signs of anemia?
Symptoms of such iron deficiency includes fatigue, loss of energy, rapid heart beat, shortness of breath and headache, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, pale skin, leg cramps, insomnia, hunger for strange substances such as paper, ice or dirt, upward curvature of the nails, and soreness of the mouth with cracks at the corners.  


Where do I get my iron on a macro veg diet?
It is often assumed that meat is the best source of iron, however many green leafy veggies have three times more iron per calorie than that found in red meat!  For example, a sirloin steak has 1.9 mg of iron per 100 calories, whereas turnip greens have 6 mg of iron per 100 calories.  I went ahead and created a chart for easy reference on how much each basic vegan macro food category has iron:

What times should I increase my iron intake?
Times of high demand include during pregnancy, blood loss from excessive menstrual flow, and in some cases extreme workouts.  A handful of parsley, steamed and sauteed in sesame oil with dulse seaweed and a handful of pumpkin seeds eaten daily will help ;)