Some people think that vegetarians are often anemic because they can’t get enough iron without eating beef. But this isn’t true. The reality is that I’ve had hundreds of vegan patients, and none of them were anemic because of their diet.
There are a lot of great sources of iron among plant-based foods — some with more iron than beef. Here are 11 examples:
- Hemp seeds
- Beet greens
- Swiss chard
- Pumpkin seeds
- Chia seeds
- Wakame
- Dulse
- Kelp
- Kidney beans
- Lentils
- White beans
To get healthy now, consider working these foods into your diet. For more tips on natural health, download the free eBook Health Secrets at peacediet.org.
About Dr. Terry Shintani, MD, JD, MPH
Dr. Terry Shintani is a Harvard-trained physician and nutritionist, named a Living Treasure of Hawai’i and recipient of the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Award for Excellence. He is the creator of the Peace Diet and the landmark Waianae Diet — published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and cited over 137 times — and the author of 16 books on natural health and nutrition, drawing on more than 35 years of clinical practice in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Learn more about Dr. Shintani’s work and recognition: NLM Native Voices
Sources:
- NIH/ODS — Iron Fact Sheet for Health Professionals
- NIH/PubMed — Plant-Based Diets and Iron Status: A Review
- NIH/PubMed — Seaweed and Legume Iron Bioavailability