If your doctor thinks your iron deficiency may be caused by a lack of iron in your diet, think about consuming more iron-rich foods, such as: Your body regularly gets iron from the foods you eat. For proper growth and development, infants and children need iron from their diets, too. Iron from plants is known as nonheme iron, and is found in certain vegetables and in iron-fortified foods such as breakfast cereals. An iron-rich diet includes foods that are good sources of iron. Eat iron-rich foods. Iron definition is - a silver-white malleable ductile magnetic heavy metallic element that readily rusts in moist air, occurs in pure form in meteorites and combined in most igneous rocks, is the most abundant element on Earth by mass, and is vital to biological processes. Food Sources of Iron.Liver is the richest source of iron; 200 g (6 ounces) of liver contains a whole day's supply for an adult. All nonheme food iron that enters the common iron pool in the digestive tract is absorbed to the same extent, which depends on the balance between the absorption inhibitors and enhancers and the iron status of the individual. Other iron-rich foods include lean meat, oysters, kidney beans, whole wheat bread, kale, spinach, egg yolk, turnip greens, beet greens, carrots, apricots, and raisins. Heme iron is found in meat, fish and poultry. Eating meat generally boosts your iron levels far more than eating non-heme iron. This is present in red blood cells and helps them transport oxygen around the body. For a reader-friendly overview of Iron, see our consumer fact sheet on Iron.. Introduction. If you consume too little iron, over time your body can become iron deficient. Iron-deficiency anemia, the most common form of anemia, is a decrease in the number of red blood cells caused by too little iron. (2) Electrolytic iron is prepared by electrodeposition. You absorb up to 30 percent of the heme iron that you consume. Food has two types of iron — heme and non-heme iron. Iron Functions. Iron is a mineral vital to the proper function of hemoglobin, a protein needed to transport oxygen in the blood. Examples of iron-rich foods include meat, eggs, leafy green vegetables and iron-fortified foods. It occurs as a dark gray powder. It is stable in dry air. Iron is a mineral that is naturally present in many foods, added to some food products, and available as a dietary supplement. This is a fact sheet intended for health professionals. Heme iron is better absorbed by the body than nonheme iron. The following foods are good sources of heme iron (from animal sources): Iron is needed to prevent anaemia. Nonheme iron is usually much less well absorbed than heme iron. Iron is a mineral that your body needs to make hemoglobin. It is the form of iron that is most readily absorbed by your body. A lack of iron in your diet. 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