Do you frequently complain of extreme fatigue, headache, dizziness, cold feet or pale skin? If yes, we recommend getting a blood test done to check your iron levels. But why? The body uses iron to form Haemoglobin, a component essential for transporting oxygen-carrying red blood cells. An average male adult requires about 8mg of iron per day, while women need 18mg. Along with taking iron supplements (if your doctor prescribes them), you can include these best iron rich foods in your diet to fight iron deficiency.

Read along to find out some of the important animal and plant-derived foods which can help you meet your daily iron requirements.

List of 31 Best Iron-rich Foods to Include in Your Diet:

Let us now understand the daily offerings of each of these iron-enriched foods:

Fish:

1. Shellfish:

One of the best ways to raise iron levels in the body is to include a healthy portion of Shellfish in your daily diet. Shellfish, which include shrimp, crab, oyster, clams, and lobsters, are rich sources of iron. A 100 gms serving of cooked mollusks offer 6.5mg of iron which is about 37% of DV. Similarly, 100gms clams can give you up to 3mg of iron which is about 17% of DV. Shellfish is also an excellent source of other nutrients like zinc, Vitamin B12 etc., which are essential for the formation of healthy blood cells.

2. Sardines:

If you are a seafood lover, then include Sardines in your daily diet as they are one of the best iron-rich foods. Depending on the variety of Sardine, you can get 2.3mg to 2.92mg of iron per 100gms serving size. Apart from Iron, Sardines are also offer omega-fatty acids, calcium and potassium. They are also low in mercury levels.

3. Tuna:

A 100 gms serving of Tuna fish packs about 1.25 mg of iron, making it one of the best iron-rich fish types. The iron levels can vary depending on the type of tuna like bluefin, skipjack etc., and also on how it is consumed – raw or cooked. Cooked Tuna gives around 1.31mg of iron which is about 9% of RDA. Tuna also offers good amounts of protein, niacin, sodium and Vitamin-B12.