Foods High in Iron for Children

Iron is the most important element of the blood as it is present in red blood cells. Deficiency of iron can lead you to many physical and mental disorders, hence it becomes very necessary to maintain a proper level of iron in the body. To maintain this level, you need to know about the foods high in iron for children and adults. In this article, we are going to discuss foods which are rich in iron. There are lots of kids who suffer from iron deficiency anemia. This may be either due the lack of iron rich food in the diet or may be due to scarcity of vitamin C, which helps in the absorption of iron in the body.

Iron Requirement in Children

As children keep growing with age, their mental and physical growth also varies. Due to this fact, a child requires the different amount of iron at different age. Foods high in iron and B12 can keep your child physically as well as mentally healthy and active. Well, before discussing these foods let's check out how much iron is required for a child at a particular age.

Age Group	Amount of Iron Required (mg/day)
Newborn - 6 months	10
7 - 12 months	11
1 - 12 years	7-10
13 - 19 years	11 for boys and 15 for girls

Iron Rich Foods for Kids

To know about iron rich foods, we need to understand about the iron types and the foods which contain it. There are two types of iron found in food, they are heme iron and non-heme iron. Heme iron is usually found in the blood rich food like poultry food, red meat, fish, etc. This is readily absorbed by the body hence it is very effective. The other type is the non-heme iron which is found in some vegetables, cereals, legumes (beans and peas) and fruits. Non-heme iron food is not easily absorbed by the body but can be readily absorbed with the help of vitamin C. Hence, if you are taking the non-heme food then try to take it with something rich in vitamin C. Following is the list of foods high in iron.

• Red meat including beef, pork, lamb, etc.
• Poultry food such as egg, turkey and chicken
• Sea food such as salmon, oysters, clams, tuna, shrimp, etc.
• Green vegetables high in iron such as spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, etc.
• Leguminous peas and beans such as kidney beans, lima beans, black beans, soy beans and lentils
• Enriched grains like oat flakes, wheat and other cereals
• Fruits like fig, banana, etc are also rich in iron
• Dry fruits like raisins, apricots, dates and prunes
• Iron fortified foods available in the market

The above given list was for the kids who have started with solid food. But for kids who are old enough to totally depend on solid food will need some other iron enriched foods which can cover up their low iron levels in the body. Up till 4 months, the iron requirement of a kid is fulfilled by the breast milk itself but as the child grows, the requirements also increases. So, foods high in iron for kids who are unable to have solid food are as follows.

• Instant oatmeal
• Iron fortified toddlers formula food
• Ready to eat cereals
• Special iron kids bread

Apart from the above mentioned foods rich in iron, few things are to be kept in mind so as to fulfill the iron level in your kids body. Do not allow your kid to drink milk more than 24 ounces a day as milk is low in iron and if your kid gets full just by drinking milk then he/she will not have any other iron rich food, which will result in iron deficiency. So limit the milk intake. Second thing, try to give something which is rich in vitamin C with the non-heme iron food. Don't serve coffee or tea at the mealtime as they reduce iron absorption. Lastly, if your child does not likes non-veg food then you need to take extra care by giving your child iron rich food for vegetarians.

Now that you know about the amount of iron required for your kid and the details about the foods high in iron for children, you can monitor your child's health better. Try to concentrate on iron rich foods for kids and help them to be healthy.