We need iron to remain healthy and strong. In the UK, almost 50% of women of child-bearing age have a low iron intake. When your iron stores are low or if you have iron deficiency you can experience anaemia, the symptoms include:
- Tiredness
- Low attention span
- Irritability
- Lack of appetite
You should always speak to a doctor if you think you have anaemia.
Red meat, including Hereford beef, contributes to around 17% of the iron intake in the UK. Including red meat in your diet is a good way of increasing your iron intake. Haem iron is found in red meats. It’s easy to absorb and can provide you with a much-needed boost of iron. Vegetables and cereals provides the non-haem iron, which is not as easily absorbed.
3 Tips to Increase Your Iron Intake
- Begin each day with a bowl of cereal. Lots of cereals are fortified with iron. Iron in cereal is harder to absorb than the iron in red meat. You can help your body absorb the iron in cereal easier by adding fruits or fruit juice to your breakfast that are rich in Vitamin C.
- Add red meat to your diet. Look for darker cuts of red meat as they have the highest iron content. Hereford meat is much darker than many other types of red meat and beef contains more iron than lamb and pork. You can find iron in the leg meat from poultry when compared with breast meat.
- Make your own lasagnes, spaghetti Bolognese’s, burgers, meatballs and pies using extra lean mince. Ask your butcher or visit your supermarket meat counter and ask for Hereford beef lean mince.
If you make spaghetti Bolognese using whole wheat pasta and lean beef you can enjoy 6.6mg of iron in the meal. That amounts to 47% of the RNI! Check out Jamie Oliver’s spaghetti Bolognese recipe here and treat the family to a delicious, iron rich meal.