Having a balanced diet is a lot tougher than most people think, its not easy getting all those precious vitamins and minerals into your body day in and day out. One very over-looked mineral is Iron and that’s why it is essential to get enough into your daily diet.

There are two types of iron in foods and they are “Haem-Iron” and “non-Haem Iron”, if you are someone who suffers from lower levels of Iron in your body you should try to get more “Haem-Iron” into your meals because it is more easily absorbed than “Non-Haem-iron”.

“Haem-Iron” foods include:

1. liver – (8.8 mg) Per 100 Grams of food
2. Fish – ( anywhere from 0.2 to 1.2 mg)
3. Chicken – (0.8 mg)
4. Turkey – (4.8 mg)
5. Red meats – (5.5 mg)
6. sardines – (4.0 mg)
7. mussels – (7.0 mg)

“Non-Haem-Iron” foods are:

1. Soybeans – (5.0 mg per cup)
2. Lentils – (2.2 mg)
3. Spinach – (3.5 mg per cup)
4. Tofu or Tempeh – (6 mg)
5. Lima beans – (2.2 mg)
6. Raisins – ( 1.5 mg per 1/2 cup)
7. Tomato Juice – (1.0 mg)

Iron plays a pretty big factor in your overall health, people with low or weak immune systems often suffer from a low iron count in there blood. So other then keeping you healthy all year long iron also does the following:

• Binds Oxygen to your blood cells
• Helps with brain development and function
• Creates better blood flow for your body, which can help with cardio, weight training and your sex life.

According to the office of dietary supplements:

Adult male should try to get about 8.0 mg daily

Adult female should get 18.0 mg (females lose a lot during the menstruation process)

Teens should get between 8.0 mg and 15.0 mg daily

Getting Iron on a daily basis is not something you should worry about unless you are feeling symptoms on a daily basis which may include; depression, fatigue, dizziness, appetite loss, poor memory. If you do have these symptoms you should schedule an appointment with your family doctor to check if you might have low iron levels.