Yes, it has IRON!

Contrary to what Popeye might have you believe, spinach isn’t the prime ruler for iron. It’s good for you, yes, and contains iron (best when lightly cooked), but there are other surprising and abundant sources of iron out there. Why does iron matter? Inadequate exposure to iron can create a failure to thrive, lack of stamina, tiredness, loss of appetite, anemia. Some doctors argue that a lack of iron in the formative years can lead to learning disabilities, excessive trantrums, and holding one’s breath until turning blue.

Your little one needs a significant amount of iron throughout their development. The early years are important. From 7 to 12 months, a baby’s need for iron springs by double to 7.8 mg and from a year onwards hovers between 6 to 7 mg. And, at 7 years it jumps to almost 9 mg. That said, it’s confusing and frustrating to expose your child to 7.8 mg at 7 months when they have just started eating solids. It’s these figures that lead most parents to buy and offer highly processed and refined, and fortified (often with the worst quality vitamins/minerals) baby rice cereals.

There are two types of iron, heme which is found in animal products and the iron found in vegetarian sources known as non-heme. Conventional nutrition argues that heme sources of iron are more available to the body, and therefore more readily absorbed. The amount of iron absorbed from vegetarian foods is believed to be around 1 - 10%, while it is 10 - 20% from animal foods. The misleading thing here is that we often read the nutritional charts on packages to determine the nutrients contained within. What we often don’t know is how much and how many nutrients are absorbed by our bodies. So, simply exposing your child to their 7.8 mg may not be enough. You’ll want to expose them to a variety of sources, taking into account that the body doesn’t absorb all of the iron available in the foods we eat.

Combining vitamin C rich foods with foods that contain iron can increase absorption. Broccoli and bok choy for instance are high in both iron and vitamin C.

There are some excellent and surprising non-heme sources of iron. Here’s the WeeMunch shortlist.

Blackstrap Molasses

Tahini

Tofu (Non-GMO, organic preferred)

Raisins (ideally organic)

Turmeric

Watermelon

Mint and Parsley

The following is a list of foods that provide 8 mg or more of iron per 100 grams:

Whole (unrefined) cereals and grains

Legumes: lentils, soybeans, lobia (black-eyed bean curry)

Vegetables: Beetroot greens, parsley

Spices: Turmeric

Fruits: Dried dates

Fish, turkey and red meats

Mussels, sardines, oysters, shrimp