Iron and Haemoglobin

Haemoglobin contains iron and is packaged in red blood cells. Its function is to transport oxygen from lung to tissues in our body.

 

As iron is an essential component to make haemoglobin, iron deficiency could reduce haemoglobin level leading to anaemia. And so we should absorb enough iron from diet.

 

There are two types of iron in food: Haem iron which is mainly found in meat and non-haem iron which is found in plants. The haem iron can be absorbed more easily by the body. For vegetarian, therefore, selection of iron-rich plants such as leafy green vegetables, grains, beans and nuts is especially important.

 

Vitamin C enhances iron absorption (An orange contains 50 mg vitamin C and can enhance iron absorption by 2 to 3 times).

 

On the other hand, caffeine interferes with the body’s absorption of iron. And so try to avoid coffee or tea between meals.

 

Below shows the iron content based on 100 grams of cooked food: 

Haem Iron

	Iron (mg)
Beef	2.8
Mutton	2.7
Pork	1.3
Pork liver	17.0
Chicken	0.8
Fish	0.5
Dried shrimp	11.0
Mussel	4.1
Oyster	10.2
Clam	14.4

 Non-haem Iron

	Iron (mg)
Black bean	7.2
Red bean	3.1
Mung bean	1.4
Soybean	3.0
Hyacinth bean	4.0
Catjang	1.9
Soybean stick	16.5
Sesame	10.4
Hazelnut	3.2
Almond	3.0
Walnut	2.9
Peanut	2.5
Raisins	3.8
Dried preserved apricot	3.4
Black dates	3.7
Glaced dates	3.5
Red dates	2.3
Whole wheat breakfast cereals	12.0
Cornflakes	6.7
Instant oatmeal	3.8
Whole wheat bread	2.7
White bread	1.6
Spinach	1.6
Broccoli	1.0