It is imperative that we consume iron rich foods every day in order to keep our iron storage or ferritin level at a healthy range between 50-150.
An essential nutrient, iron assists the body to detoxify, boosts immune functions, and helps create proteins and enzymes. One of these proteins is hemoglobin, a protein that red blood cells use to carry blood throughout the body. When the body is low on ferritin or iron stores, a condition called iron deficiency anemia can develop, which decreases the efficiency of red blood cell ability to transport oxygen. Iron is usually consumed in our diets and is usually categorized as heme-iron or nonheme. Heme-iron is typically derived from meats, poultry, and seafood while nonheme is typically derived from plants. Nonheme iron is more difficult for our bodies to absorb, but often makes up a larger percentage of dietary iron.
If you are experiencing low iron levels, please consider adding the following to your diet to boost your iron levels. Keep in mind, to create balance and maintain an anti-inflammatory diet, choose a variety from each category to consume on a day to day basis. For example, because beef liver tops the chart, avoid having it every day. Instead choose liver or oysters for one meal, and cooked beans the following meal. Remember to also add variety of iron rich vegetables where possible to each meal.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00051880.htm
https://www.webmd.com/diet/iron-rich-foods#1
https://draxe.com/top-10-iron-rich-foods/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/iron-rich-plant-foods#section1