Red meat seems to be the highest source of iron and you would need to eat 24oz of steak every day to meet your iron DV goals. There’s no way anyone is getting in the DV of iron without an iron supplement.
Other foods: 9 bags of spinach, or 9 oz of liver, or an entire 8oz pack of pumpkin seeds, or 8 cups of quinoa, or 15 cups of broccoli…
I don’t believe that the recommended for iron is too high. Iron deficiency anemia is fairly common among adult women of childbearing years (about 10% in the US).
The recommendation for adult males and women over 50 years is only 8 mg and for women between 19-50 years is 18mg. The number the percent daily value for nutrition facts labels in the US is based on is 18mg per day.
Both of these amounts are easily obtainable as there are a wide variety of foods containing iron besides meat, including plant-based sources such as spinach (1/2 cup cooked has 3mg) and white beans (1 cup has 8mg), and bread and breakfast cereals are often iron fortified. Plant-based sources of iron are not as well absorbed but absorption is increased when a source of vitamin C is consumed with the plant-based source.
Source:
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/
I don’t know; I didn’t realize it was that bad. But since you’re thinking about iron, there is a non-fortified nutritional yeast out there, and it has a ton of iron. I don’t know why that is; I imagine they brew it in cast iron containers, because the other nutritional yeasts, that add B vitamins, don’t have iron.
I’m not even sure if it is great for you or not; but it certainly is eye-catching. Enhances some savory flavors, too. It is vaguely cheesy.
You can cook in cast iron and get elemental iron, I think. Not sure what that does; I am just sort of ignoring iron. I think I’m alright.