What foods have a lot of iron in them?

Iron is a very important nutrient. Its main role is carrying oxygen to different parts of your body including your muscles and your brain. When your iron levels are low, you might feel tired or have a hard time concentrating.

Let me rephrase that: you might feel more tired or have a harder time concentrating than normal.

For the menstruating young ladies out there, this is an especially pertinent topic. Iron levels are commonly low in teenage females because of blood loss from your periods. In fact, it's actually recommended that females consume more iron than males on a daily basis (15mg for females vs 11mg for males). Besides taking a supplement (which may still be advised if your levels are too low) there are many foods that have high levels of iron.

Meats. Foods like beef, chicken or pork have iron because they, too, have components of blood in them. But not to worry if you're a vegetarian or don't eat a lot of meat.

Fruits and vegetables. Spinach, dried apricots, raisins and prunes (whole and juice) are great sources of iron that don't come from an animal.

Non-meat proteins. Some foods that are rich in protein also contain great amounts of iron. Some examples are eggs, lima beans and kidney beans.

Grains. Wheat bran and brown rice are two examples with good iron levels.

Enriched foods. Many foods are also "enriched" with iron, meaning that they have iron added to them. Check out labels of things like breakfast cereals, rice, flours and breads to see if their iron content has been given a boost.

And a final note about low iron levels due to heavy periods. If your periods are long or heavy, talk with your doctor about ways to reduce your blood loss. We can help!