Iron, amongst other things, controls how oxygen moves around your body in your blood cells. if you don't have enough iron in your system, it can create extremely dangerous problems in all of your major organs.
The typical human adult needs 18mg a day to stay healthy. Please note that just as with any other vitamin, you should never overdose on vitamins either. Just because 18mg is healthy, it does not mean you should eat 18,000mg to get more healthy.
Here are some foods you can eat to raise your iron -
Sesame seeds (3.5oz) - 10mg
Cashew nuts (3.5oz) - 6.2mg
Almonds (3.5oz) - 3mg
Watercress (3.5oz) - 2.2mg
Lean beef (3.5oz) - 2.5mg
Hard boiled egg (1) - 1.1mg
Unless you chow down on sesame seeds every day, it's probably wisest to make sure your daily vitamin has iron supplements in it, appropriate to your age and gender.
If you're a heavy tea drinker, it might be time to cut back. Not only does caffeine cause numerous health problems, but it hinders how your body absorbs iron. Switch over to herbal hot drinks, which aren't "teas" :) Tea involves the tea leaf, while herbal drinks involve herbs.
Also, many grains contain compounds which prevent the body from properly absorbing iron.
On the other hand, make sure you get adequate vitamin C into your body every day.
Intriguingly, eating proteins helps your body absorb iron. Nature is rather wise! So when you eat meat you get both iron along with the proteins that help you absorb it properly.
Still, like you can see from the counts above, even if you had an egg for breakfast and a quarter pounder of beef for lunch and dinner, you just wouldn't hit your total body's needs. Make sure you get a multivitamin that you enjoy taking, and take one every day. Whether it's the type you swallow, a liquid, a chewable, or a gooey chocolate square shape, it's important for your health.
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