{"id":23461,"date":"2024-08-20T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=23461"},"modified":"2024-08-07T11:43:18","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T15:43:18","slug":"vegan-iron-sources-in-the-grocery-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2024\/08\/20\/vegan-iron-sources-in-the-grocery-store\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Iron Sources in the Grocery Store"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

photo from livelovefruit.com<\/p><\/div>\n

By Chloe Khachadourian and Neha Vivek, VRG interns<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re vegan and would like to learn more about unexpected sources of iron, then this article is for you. Read on to find out about our experiences with finding iron in vegan foods, vegan iron sources, the stereotypes about vegans and their iron consumption, and the importance of iron in the human body.<\/p>\n

Before writing this article, we went on a scavenger hunt in grocery stores near us to locate vegan food that contained 10% or more of the Daily Value of iron per serving. To do this we looked at the nutrition label of each product and we looked at the serving size of the product and the bottom section of the nutrition label. On almost all of our products this section stated the iron with a number in milligrams, indicating how many milligrams of iron, and a percentage to see how much of the Daily Value for the day the product has (to learn more what Daily Value means, look at this article by the VRG<\/a>). We were surprised by the variety and type of foods that we were able to find. For example, going into the grocery store, we didn\u2019t think foods like whole wheat spaghetti, pumpkin pur\u00e9e, or cocoa powder had a lot of iron in them, but they do. It was a nice surprise because we love incorporating these foods in some of our weekly meals and desserts that we make and you can find them in most grocery stores. All you have to do is go into a grocery store near you, like Safeway or Whole Foods, and just explore. You will be surprised by the amount of iron that is in some vegan foods.<\/p>\n

When people hear that you are vegan they sometimes ask: How do you get enough iron? Many people think of iron exclusively as something found in animal flesh, making it difficult for people to imagine how to get iron in a vegetarian or vegan diet. However, iron is found in plant foods such as leafy greens. Compared to iron found in animal products, of which 5 to 35 percent is absorbed, plant-based iron is less absorbed; roughly 2 to 10 percent is absorbed (1). Absorption of the form of iron found in plant foods can be increased by eating a food rich in vitamin C such as oranges or tomatoes along with the food supplying iron. It is important for those that eat animal products and for vegans to consume iron-rich foods to prevent iron deficiency.<\/p>\n

Vegan Food and Meals with 10% of or more of the Daily Value for Iron (Most to Least):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Food<\/strong><\/td>\nIron Amount<\/strong><\/td>\nServing Size<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Beyond Meat Beyond Beef Plant-Based Ground<\/td>\n4 mg (20%)<\/td>\n4 oz<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tasty Bite All Natural Mexican Plant-Based Protein Bowl, Shelf-Stable<\/td>\n3.9 mg (20%)<\/td>\n1 package<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nobull Veggieburger The Original<\/td>\n3 mg (15%)<\/td>\n1 burger<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Plant Boss Southwest Plant Taco Meatless Crumbles<\/td>\n3 mg (15%)<\/td>\n\u2153 cup dry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Banza Rotini \u2013 Gluten-Free, High Protein, Lower Carb Shelf-Stable Chickpea Pasta<\/td>\n3 mg (20%)<\/td>\n2 oz dry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ripple\u00ae Original Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk<\/td>\n2.7 mg (15%)<\/td>\n1 cup<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Larabar Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Gluten-Free<\/p>\n

Fruit & Nut Bar<\/td>\n

2.7 mg (15%)<\/td>\n1 bar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Eat Meati Classic Carne Asada Steaks<\/td>\n2.6 mg (15%)<\/td>\nOne Steak<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
365 Organic Cocoa Powder Unsweetened<\/td>\n2.5 mg (15%)<\/td>\n1 Tbsp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Catalina Crunch Keto Friendly Cereal Dark Chocolate<\/td>\n2.3 mg (13%)<\/td>\n\u00bd cup<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Amy\u2019s Gluten-Free Bean and Rice Burrito Non-Dairy<\/td>\n2.2 mg (10%)<\/td>\n1 package<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O Organics Whole Wheat Spaghetti<\/td>\n2 mg (10%)<\/td>\n2 oz dry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Three Wishes Marshmallow Cereal<\/td>\n2 mg (10%)<\/td>\n1 cup<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lenny & Larry\u2019s The Com-plete Cookie, Chocolate Chip<\/td>\n2 mg (10%)<\/td>\n\u00bd cookie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Daring Teriyaki Plant Chicken Pieces<\/td>\n2 mg (10%)<\/td>\n~ 9 Pieces<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Daiya Dairy Free Gluten-Free Supreme Vegan Pizza<\/td>\n2 mg (10%)<\/td>\n\u00bc pizza<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GoMacro Protein Bars \u2013 \u00a0Oatmeal Chocolate Chip<\/p>\n

MacroBars<\/td>\n

2 mg (10%)<\/td>\n1 bar<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gardein Plant-Based Ground Be\u2019f<\/td>\n1.9 mg (10%)<\/td>\n\u00be cup<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Organic Pinto Beans<\/td>\n1.9 mg (10%)<\/td>\n\u00bd cup canned<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Organic Black Beans<\/td>\n1.8 mg (10%)<\/td>\n\u00bd cup canned<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seapoint Farms Shelled Soybeans Edamame<\/td>\n1.8 mg (10%)<\/td>\n\u00bd cup<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
365 Organic Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats<\/td>\n1.7 mg (10%)<\/td>\n\u00bd cup dry<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
O Organics Pure Pumpkin Pur\u00e9e<\/td>\n1.7 mg (10%)<\/td>\n\u00bd cup<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cloves Farms Organic Super Smoothie<\/td>\n1.7 mg (10%)<\/td>\n1 pouch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Variety of Vegan Foods with Iron<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for new inspiration for vegan food and meals with a good amount of iron in them, then this section is perfect for you.<\/p>\n