Watch your Iron.

Can you get sufficient iron from a plant based diet ? Iron is essential in any healthy diet being vital for blood formation and oxygen transportation in the body. A Vegan need never worry if they eat a well balanced diet as food sources of iron include green leafy vegetables, wholegrains, enriched cereals and legumes.

Keeping in mind the RDA for iron is 10 mg per day for adult men and for post-menopausal women and 15 mg per day for pre-menopausal women. Let us look at various foods and their iron content:

Soybeans, cooked (1 cup) 8.8 mg
Blackstrap molasses (2 Tbsp) 7.0 mg
Lentils, cooked (1 cup) 6.6mg
Quinoa, cooked (1 cup) 6.3mg
Dried Beans cooked (1 cup) 3.0-5.0mg
Swiss chard, cooked (1 cup) 4.0mg
Tempeh (1 cup) 3.8mg
Turnip greens, cooked (1 cup) 3.2mg
Prune juice (8 oz) 3.0mg
Spinach, cooked (1 cup) 2.9mg
Tahini 2 (Tbsp) 2.6mg
Raisins (1/2 cup) 2.2mg
Cashews (1/4 cup) 2.0mg
Figs, dried (5 medium) 2.0mg
Seitan (4 oz) 2.0mg

Absorption is improved by serving with vegetables or fruits that contain a high level of Vitamin C like a glass of orange juice.

Some excellent info is available from the following websites:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm
http://heart.kumu.org/iron.html