Following on from my iron supplements thread I would like to ask what are the best sources of iron and the most easily absorbed.

thank you

Watermelon, and your easily digestible green leafy foods like romaine and spinach.

Check out this list at Worlds Healthiest Foods. It lists the mineral contents including iron.

The following is from the link below..it's interesting and has very useful info. It's also what I have found to be true for myself..I would include the fresh green juices as in juiced form seems easier to digest and absorb as I found out myself.
Love,
Prism

[www.vegansociety.com]

Examples of amounts of foods providing 2mg iron

Type of food Quantity (g)
Pistachios 14
Cashews (roasted) 32
Whole lentils 57
Chick peas (boiled) 95
Wholemeal bread 74
Sesame seeds or tahini 19
Black molasses 22
Apricots (dried) 59
Spinach (boiled) 125

Iron Absorption

Up to 22% of the iron in meat is absorbed, while only 1-8% is absorbed from eggs and plant foods. If the body stores fall, the rate of iron absorption rises. About 40% of the iron in animal foods is in a form called haem iron, while the remainder, and all the iron in plant foods, is in the less well absorbed non-haem form. Iron absorption can also be reduced by tannins (e.g. in tea) and phytates (found in nuts, grain and seeds). At this point one tends to wonder whether the rumours of vegans suffering from anaemia have substance, however, this isn't the whole story and the reader will be heartened to learn that research has shown that iron deficiency in vegans is no more common than in the rest of the population.

The absorption of iron from plant foods is improved by the presence in a meal of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), other organic acids such as malic acid (e.g. in pumpkins, plums and apples) and citric acid (in citrus fruits). Laboratory research in which experimental meals were given to 299 volunteers has shown that the inclusion of foods (such as fresh salad, orange juice or cauliflower) providing 70-105mg of vitamin C in each meal increased the absorption of iron. A particularly pronounced effect was seen when 4.5oz cauliflower containing 60mg of vitamin C was added to vegetarian meals, causing more than three-fold increase in iron absorption.

Conclusions

Vegans have a high dietary iron intake and although iron from plant sources is less well absorbed than that from meat, high levels of vitamin C in the diet enhances iron absorption. Studies show that the iron status of vegans is usually normal, and iron deficiency is no more common than in the general population.

Further Details

For more details on vegan nutrition see Plant Based Nutrition and Health by Stephen Walsh. This book is the most comprehensive survey of scientific research on vegan diets. It is ideal for vegans, would-be vegans and health care professionals

My main source used to be legumes, now it is leafy greens.

thanks very much

In one herb school I was taught how to make a syrup of molasses and the root of Curly dock (Rumex crispus). Yes, it was a cooked formula.

I was taught that the combination of the chemical constituents of the molasses and the chemical constituents of the Curly dock roots made the iron more absorbable.

The formula was given to us when we were discussing pregnant women becoming iron anemic and what we could give them that would help.

If one takes more than a tablespoon or so at a time of the Curly dock and molasses syrup it has a laxative action as well
so I imagine its difficult to overdose with the stuff.