We all know that Iron is sucked from the mamma during pregnancy and given to the baby.
Iron is extremely important to keep up on though. Iron helps muscle tone, strength
Without it one may feel:
Brain fog
winded going up stairs,
you’ll sleep more.
Varicose veins
Voice may go deeper or more gravily
Heart burn
It is important to have because it keeps oxygen going to the mothers mothers. This will be important through the pregnancy to help you stay motivated to do those exercises as well as to get the oxygen to the uterine muscle during labor. It is labor we need all the strength we can get.
And I realize that as I am writing this there is a reason I have been craving liver. I need iron. I have heartburn and brain fog, and am sleeping a lot…I guess we’ll see how it goes.
And of course in order to properly absorb iron we need to make sure our calcium levels are up. it helps the uptake of iron
According to the USDA Dietary Guidlines for Americans 2005
Good Sources of Iron are as follows:
Appendix B-3. Food Sources of Iron
Food Sources of Iron ranked by milligrams of iron per standard amount; also calories in the standard amount. (All are ≥ 10% of RDA for teen and adult females, which is 18 mg/day.)
| Food, Standard Amount |
Iron (mg)
|
Calories
|
| Clams, canned, drained, 3 oz |
23.8
|
126
|
| Fortified ready-to-eat cereals (various), ~ 1 oz |
1.8 -21.1
|
54-127
|
| Oysters, eastern, wild, cooked, moist heat, 3 oz |
10.2
|
116
|
| Organ meats (liver, giblets), various, cooked, 3 oz a |
5.2-9.9
|
134-235
|
| Fortified instant cooked cereals (various), 1 packet |
4.9-8.1
|
Varies
|
| Soybeans, mature, cooked, ½ cup |
4.4
|
149
|
| Pumpkin and squash seed kernels, roasted, 1 oz |
4.2
|
148
|
| White beans, canned, ½ cup |
3.9
|
153
|
| Blackstrap molasses, 1 Tbsp |
3.5
|
47
|
| Lentils, cooked, ½ cup |
3.3
|
115
|
| Spinach, cooked from fresh, ½ cup |
3.2
|
21
|
| Beef, chuck, blade roast, lean, cooked, 3 oz |
3.1
|
215
|
| Beef, bottom round, lean, 0″ fat, all grades, cooked, 3 oz |
2.8
|
182
|
| Kidney beans, cooked, ½ cup |
2.6
|
112
|
| Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 3 oz |
2.5
|
177
|
| Beef, rib, lean, ¼” fat, all grades, 3 oz |
2.4
|
195
|
| Chickpeas, cooked, ½ cup |
2.4
|
134
|
| Duck, meat only, roasted, 3 oz |
2.3
|
171
|
| Lamb, shoulder, arm, lean, ¼ ” fat, choice, cooked, 3 oz |
2.3
|
237
|
| Prune juice, ¾ cup |
2.3
|
136
|
| Shrimp, canned, 3 oz |
2.3
|
102
|
| Cowpeas, cooked, ½ cup |
2.2
|
100
|
| Ground beef, 15% fat, cooked, 3 oz |
2.2
|
212
|
| Tomato puree, ½ cup |
2.2
|
48
|
| Lima beans, cooked, ½ cup |
2.2
|
108
|
| Soybeans, green, cooked, ½ cup |
2.2
|
127
|
| Navy beans, cooked, ½ cup |
2.1
|
127
|
| Refried beans, ½ cup |
2.1
|
118
|
| Beef, top sirloin, lean, 0″ fat, all grades, cooked, 3 oz |
2.0
|
156
|
| Tomato paste, ¼ cup |
2.0
|
54
|
a High in cholesterol.
Source: Nutrient values from Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 17. Foods are from ARS single nutrient reports, sorted in descending order by nutrient content in terms of common household measures. Food items and weights in the single nutrient reports are adapted from those in 2002 revision of USDA Home and Garden Bulletin No. 72, Nutritive Value of Foods. Mixed dishes and multiple preparations of the same food item have been omitted from this table.
