Skip to content
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Going Vegan

The Health Benefits Of A Vegan Lifesetyle

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Curation Policy
  • DMCA Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Toggle search form

Do Vegans Really Suffer From Iron Deficiency?

Posted on October 27, 2015 By 35 Comments on Do Vegans Really Suffer From Iron Deficiency?

Well, considering the recommendations of the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for iron specifically given for vegetarians, the odds are that they are more susceptible to show iron deficiency in their blood than others. This argument is given for two reasons: First, their need for iron intake is 1.8 times higher than for people who include meat in their dietary habits. Second, the absorption of iron which is found in plant-based food is less effective than the absorption of iron in animal products. However, does this necessarily account for an iron deficiency with vegans? I don’t think so because at the end of the day it all comes down not to the amount of iron intake but to its effectiveness regarding its absorption abilities. If vegans choose high iron-absorbing plant-based food, the odds are pretty good that they will avoid any iron deficiency issues.

“True or False: The iron that our bodies require is the same element found in a cast-iron skillet.

This is a real true or false question on my college exam, and it fools a surprising number of my students. Iron is greatly misunderstood as a nutrient, especially when it comes to vegetarian and vegan diets.

The mineral is found all over the earth and is essential to red blood cells transporting oxygen and nutrients to every cell in our body, connecting us directly to the land we live on. Pretty amazing, right?

But iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency in North America, with symptoms including fatigue, pale skin, weakness and inability to maintain body temperature. And as vegetarians and vegans, it’s worth paying special attention to make sure we’re getting enough.

So how much iron do we actually need?

Recently in the U.S., the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) gave new recommendations for iron, specifically for vegetarians, that are 1.8 times higher than the general population. As my colleague Jack Norris points out, this increase is not based on actual research on vegetarians, but simply because the iron in plant foods is not as easily absorbed as the iron in animal products (more on this in just a minute).

As a result, many experts in vegetarian nutrition believe that these recommendations are much higher than needed.

My take on it: if you eat a varied, healthy plant-based diet that includes a balance of grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, and fruits and vegetables — and follow the recommendations below — I don’t believe it is necessary to keep close track of iron intake.

Iron from plants vs. iron from animals

To better understand what we need to do to ensure our bodies are getting enough iron, we first have to accept two facts about iron — painful as they are for vegetarians and vegans to hear:

  1. There are two types of iron — heme, which is found in animal foods, and non-heme, which is from plants. It is true that heme iron (the kind from animals) is better absorbed than non-heme iron.
  2. Vegetarians and vegans may have lower iron stores than omnivores.

But don’t fret your vegetarian brain over these issues. We’ll see that in fact it’s not all that difficult to get the iron you need on a plant-based diet.

As for #2, it’s important to note that while vegetarians have lower stores of iron than omnivores, they do not have higher rates of anemia. In the research, many vegetarians’ stores are “low-normal,” but this does not mean less than ideal! Actually, there’s some evidence that says low-normal iron stores are beneficial: improved insulin function and lower rates of heart disease and cancer.

How to get enough iron on a plant-based diet

You can start by making sure that you’re eating foods that contain substantial amounts of iron. Some of the best plant sources of iron include:

  • Legumes: lentils, soybeans, tofu, tempeh, lima beans
  • Grains: quinoa, fortified cereals, brown rice, oatmeal
  • Nuts and seeds: pumpkin, squash, pine, pistacio, sunflower, cashews, unhulled sesame
  • Vegetables: tomato sauce, swiss chard, collard greens,
  • Other: blackstrap molasses, prune juice

But here’s the key: It’s not how much iron you consume, but how well you absorb it.”

To read the rest of the article, check it out on the original source over at No Meat Athlete.

Image Source: Centenarian Diet Research.

Vegan Topics Tags:iron deficiency

Post navigation

Previous Post: Is There Really An Anti-Leukemia Fruit?
Next Post: Does A Vegan Diet Jeopardize Your Teeth Health?

More Related Articles

How A Former Gang Member Became A Vegan Chef Vegan Topics
First Hospital In The “Cattle Country” Starts Promoting A Vegan Diet Vegan Topics
This Vegan Food Virtually Offers An El Dorado Of Health Benefits Vegan Topics
Does Local Honey Fight Allergy Successfully? Vegan Topics
How This Professor From The University Of Toronto Revolutionized The Diet Industry Vegan Topics
The Ten Commandments Of Diet Vegan Topics

Comments (35) on “Do Vegans Really Suffer From Iron Deficiency?”

  1. Lisa Johnston says:
    March 11, 2016 at 2:35 pm

    NO and we get loads of protein aswell ❤️

    Reply
  2. Amy Sofia says:
    March 11, 2016 at 2:40 pm

    My doctor said I have abnormally low iron and told me to start taking vitamins (or eating a$#%&!@*ton of kale and mushrooms). But my grandmother also has blood problems so maybe it runs in the family.

    Reply
  3. Rhonda Elizabeth says:
    March 11, 2016 at 2:44 pm

    I am anemic too and runs in my family as well. I think everyone should be taking an iron supplement.

    Reply
    1. Miko says:
      November 15, 2016 at 11:36 pm

      It runs in my family too. I just take a supplement. I don’t understand why people think they need to eat meat just for iron when they could easily just take a supplement. But you know, people need their excuses.

      Reply
  4. Jackie Cafaro says:
    March 11, 2016 at 3:07 pm

    I’ve been a vegetarian for a decade (going vegan now), and I just had my blood tested the other day. My iron levels are perfect, which is funny because my non vegetarian mom is typically anemic. I get all the iron I need!

    Reply
  5. Shanti Perez says:
    March 11, 2016 at 3:30 pm

    Nope.

    Reply
  6. Lori Hart says:
    March 11, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    I did have a iron problem around my time of the month. For anout 4 months after going vegan. I was getting sores in my mouth and that’s how I knew. After I started taking a iron vitamin it went away– different for different people

    Reply
  7. Lori Hart says:
    March 11, 2016 at 5:41 pm

    It’s okay to admit that being vegan can give you a deficiency. In certain vitamins– it doesn’t discredit the lifestyle and I think a lot of vegans are afraid of admitting that. It’s not the vegan lifestyles fault for that happening tho- if the world and all the people were defendants of pure meat and dairy eaters we would not have systems that can’t compensate for such a healthy lifestyle- it’s actually sad that our bodies aren’t used to it. It’s okay to admit and it’s not the lifestyles fault–

    Reply
  8. Jacqueline Briand says:
    March 11, 2016 at 7:21 pm

    Make sure to cook in a cast iron pan.

    Reply
  9. Karina Vásquez says:
    March 11, 2016 at 8:19 pm

    I was severely anemic before j became vegan & I am now healthy & almost within the desired range every time. I used to be a 9.2, 9.7 max & am now always above 11

    Reply
  10. Paige Noel says:
    March 12, 2016 at 2:45 am

    Just make sure you have some sort of Vitamin C with it, and your body will absorb it bettet. I’m anemic and simple squeeze of lime over my food always works.

    Reply
  11. Yvette Wallace-Snow says:
    March 15, 2016 at 1:44 am

    Wow that’s great!

    Reply
  12. Sonja Bella Horton says:
    March 15, 2016 at 4:51 pm

    Paige Noel
    I’m amemic. What does the lime do for the system?

    Reply
  13. Valentine Thornton says:
    August 14, 2016 at 10:35 pm

    I do…

    Reply
  14. Kassandra Riddick says:
    August 14, 2016 at 10:48 pm

    It isn’t really a vegan thing. Most women suffer from iron deficiency.

    Reply
  15. Amy Rowe Brown says:
    August 14, 2016 at 11:04 pm

    I was anemic from the 5th grade until becoming vegan. Ever since then, my iron level has been normal!

    Reply
  16. Klee Reik says:
    August 14, 2016 at 11:11 pm

    NOT

    Reply
  17. Valeria RLi says:
    August 14, 2016 at 11:11 pm

    No vegans don’t suffer for any deficiency.

    Reply
  18. Naomi Wilson says:
    August 14, 2016 at 11:19 pm

    Mine went normal after being deficient as an omni x

    Reply
  19. Amy Rowe Brown says:
    August 14, 2016 at 11:21 pm

    I neglected to include that I’m kidney transplant, and anemia is a big issue for many kidney transplant patients. Plus…my kidney function skyrocketed!

    Reply
  20. Elaine Harper says:
    August 14, 2016 at 11:21 pm

    Solution for your quiz as a vegan, does not include eggs

    Reply
  21. Priscilla Collings says:
    August 14, 2016 at 11:33 pm

    My anemia improved, too 🙂 green veggies ftw 🙂

    Reply
  22. Jackie Cafaro says:
    August 15, 2016 at 12:11 am

    Nope! My iron levels are great while other people I know who eat meat do have iron deficiencies. I think it depends more on the person than on the diet, and many women are iron deficient.

    Reply
  23. TJ Lucky says:
    August 15, 2016 at 12:53 am

    Just had everything tested. The only thing off the charts was my B12 it was way too high. So I quit taking it. Everything else is perfect.

    Reply
  24. TJ Lucky says:
    August 15, 2016 at 12:54 am

    Same here!

    Reply
  25. Debbie Calvitto says:
    August 15, 2016 at 1:59 am

    my iron levels improved after going vegan, just ask my doctor

    Reply
  26. Ruth Spivey says:
    August 15, 2016 at 2:22 am

    Tonight we had a wonderfully iron packed dinner:
    Lentil loaf with sunflower seeds, mashed potatoes, peas and caramelized onions.
    For dessert was ‘sweet milk’. It’s blackstrap molasses in milk of choice…so yummy!! Our 4 year old loves that!!! He brags about it to his friends:)

    Reply
  27. Tanisha Lane says:
    August 15, 2016 at 2:44 am

    I’m anemic and vitamin d3 deficient. I take supplements. But was deficient before being vegan. My levels really haven’t approved so I just take my vitamins.

    Reply
  28. Ziggy Daniels says:
    August 15, 2016 at 4:29 am

    Only became anemic due to pre monopause at 50 – never due to moslty or wholly vegan for over 30 years.

    Reply
  29. Tray Smith says:
    August 22, 2016 at 9:29 pm

    Nothing to do with veganism..plant based is out natural lifestyle

    Reply
  30. Herbivore Club says:
    November 16, 2016 at 1:16 am

    No. But like most herbivores I love the taste of salt. The lure of salt is due to the fact that fruits, seeds, nuts, vegetables, beans etc are low in salt and many herbivores will go out of their way to get some. Goats climb steep hills to like a rock, humans enslave fellow herbivores and murder them so they can taste their salty flesh and being totally unequipped to properly digest the flesh give themselves heart disease, strokes, cancers, obesity, diabetes, IBD, back pain and erectile dsyfunction.. But in answer to the article, where did the meat get its iron from?

    Reply
  31. Parasteh Irani says:
    November 16, 2016 at 2:07 am

    I have been border line anemic for years. I loved donating blood before my iron levels dropped. I forgot taking my iron pills on a regular basis, so the issue was always there, and every time I went to donate blood I would be sent back home because of failing the iron test. I became a Vegan and not only do I not suffer from chronic digestive issues anymore, my cycles are so much less painful AND for the first time in years I finally gave blood with very impressive iron levels. So, no! For me, It actually helped improve my health

    Reply
  32. Steven Hogg says:
    November 16, 2016 at 10:51 am

    ERM….NO…

    Reply
  33. Tara Crow says:
    November 16, 2016 at 11:01 am

    No way. Chickpeas is the way to do it!

    Reply
  34. Victoria Kay says:
    November 16, 2016 at 8:20 pm

    If they are, they are doing it wrong

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Restore Your Super Gut with This Japanese Herbal Remedy!

Recent Posts

  • Your Super Gut Feeling Restored – How to Restore Your Life Energy and Overall Health from The Inside Out
  • Improve Skin & Heart Health With The Best 2000mg Softgel Coconut Oil Capsules
  • Why You Should Take an Immune Support Supplement!
  • Boston First Grade Teacher Shoots Awesome Music Video To Promote Veganism
  • Moringa Oleifera – Miracle Tree and King of All Superfoods

Click Below To Learn More About Turmeric!

organic coconut oil capsules

Recent Comments

  • Jane Hemstreet on These Are The Most Vegan-Friendly Cities In The World
  • Ruth Von Sag on These Are The Most Vegan-Friendly Cities In The World
  • Ruth Von Sag on These Are The Most Vegan-Friendly Cities In The World
  • Erica Shouldeen on These Are The Most Vegan-Friendly Cities In The World
  • Teresa French on These Are The Most Vegan-Friendly Cities In The World

Categories

  • Breakfast
  • Coconut Oil
  • Desserts & Snacks
  • EBooks
  • Gut Health
  • Health
  • Main Meals
  • Moringa Oleifera
  • Side Dishes, Soups & Salads
  • Turmeric Curcumin
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegan Journey
  • Vegan Recipes
  • Vegan Tips
  • Vegan Topics
  • Videos

Archives

The Benefits Of Organic Coconut Oil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtpEXpThvZU

Copyright © 2023 Going Vegan.

Powered by PressBook Green WordPress theme