The short answer
It can be done, with more care. Plant iron is absorbed less well, which is why US guidance suggests vegetarians aim for about 1.8 times the usual intake. Choose the richest plants, add vitamin C every time and keep tea, coffee and calcium apart.
- times1.8×The iron vegetarians need, in US dietary guidance
- mg18The usual daily need while you have periods
The richest plant foods
| Food | Portion | Iron |
|---|---|---|
| White beans, cooked | 1 cup | about 6.7 mg |
| Lentils, cooked | 1 cup | about 6.6 mg |
| Firm tofu | half a block | about 6.8 mg |
| Chickpeas, cooked | 1 cup | about 4.6 mg |
| Pumpkin seeds | 30 g | about 2.6 mg |
| Cashews | 30 g | about 2 mg |
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 4 pieces | about 1.8 mg |
Firm tofu is often set with calcium. It is a great food, but eat it in your calcium meal rather than counting it as an iron meal.
Making plant iron count
- 1Pair every bean, lentil and grain meal with a vitamin C food.
- 2Add colour: sweet potato, carrot, tomato, pumpkin.
- 3Soak and rinse beans and lentils, and choose long-fermented sourdough.
- 4Keep coffee, tea and calcium apart from iron meals.
- 5If you eat eggs or fish, add them: a little heme iron helps plant iron in.
With a ferritin under 30 µg/L, recovery on plant food alone is slow. Talk to your doctor about a supplement, and ask for B12 to be checked too.
A real page from The Iron GuideDay one of the guide's 7-day ferritin menu.See more pagesQuestions
Is spinach a good iron source?
Not really. It has some iron, but oxalates hold most of it back. Count it as colour rather than as your iron.
Do vegans need an iron supplement?
Not always. Many keep good stores with careful food choices. Your ferritin, your periods and your doctor decide.
Sources
- 1.NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Iron: fact sheet for health professionals
- 2.US Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central
- 3.Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The Nutrition Source: Iron
- 4.The Iron Guide, part 9: Your situation
This page has not been reviewed by a clinician yet. Read it as general education, and take your own results to your doctor.
Educational, not medical advice. ferritin.ai does not diagnose or treat any condition, and it never sets a dose. Talk to your doctor about your own results.