of red blood cells, where it participates in the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Furthermore, it is essential in the production of energy and in the proper functioning of the metabolism.
Eating iron-rich foods can also relieve PMS symptoms.
What its deficiency entails
The daily iron requirement in an adult man is about 10-12 milligrams, in a child 7-9 mg and in a woman about 18 mg. However, if the woman is in menopause, the iron requirement approaches that of a man, while if she is pregnant it increases significantly, up to 30 mg. Finally, during menstruation, since the loss of blood also corresponds to a loss of iron, the latter should be integrated even more than during the rest of the month.
Its deficiency in the organism is very harmful and, if significant and prolonged over time, it can lead to anemia.
In childhood and adolescence, the lack of iron leads to a lack of oxygen to the tissues and a consequent slowdown in growth. In the "adult or in the" athlete, however, often to a reduction in performance.
Some of the clearest symptoms that show too low iron levels are: paleness, hair loss, headache, weakness, chronic fatigue, exhaustion and brittle nails, moodiness, reduced concentration and productive capacity.
and eat foods that contain enough.Maintaining a healthy diet is very important and you should try to do this during the Christmas holidays as well.
There are two types of dietary iron: heme, present in foods of animal origin and easily absorbed by the body; and that not heme, mainly contained in plants and assimilated to a lesser extent than the first.
Equally important, to maintain a generic and optimal state of health, also to keep the balance of the intestinal microbiota under control.
there are many and many of these, especially those of vegetable origin, are perfect to be consumed for breakfast, in order to give the right start to the day. In this article, we have compared sweet and savory breakfasts.Cereals as a priority source
Cereals, which already naturally constitute one of the primary options in terms of breakfast, contain a considerable amount of iron and for this reason it is recommended to take about 30/40 g per day, to be consumed for example in milk (the benefits of boiling milk) as an alternative to biscuits.
The possibilities on the market to choose from to enrich the most important meal of the day are many and the best idea is to be guided by taste, since the consumption of these foods should be constant and perpetuate over time. keep the presence of fibers as low as possible which, on the contrary, in large quantities inhibit the assimilation of iron.
If you aim to assimilate as much iron as possible, it is good to consider that the primacy for the amount of iron contained goes to wheat bran with 12.9 mg / 100g, followed by: wheat germ with 10mg, wheat 6.0 mg, wheat flour soy 6.9 mg, muesli 5.6 mg, oat flakes 5.2 mg, oat flour 4.2 mg, buckwheat 4 mg.
Eating oatmeal foods for breakfast also helps reduce abdominal bloating.
For a healthy breakfast, you can also choose low-carb cereals.
To consume them, you can choose just one or combine several and create a personal mix, to which you can add other foods rich in iron. Breakfast cereals, and oats, in particular, are part of the list of healthy and inexpensive foods that must never be missing within a balanced diet.
Dried fruit, dark chocolate and eggs
Another friendly food of this mineral is nuts or nuts (2.9 mg), almonds (4.51 mg), hazelnuts (4.70 mg), peanuts (4.58 mg) or pistachios (3.9 mg) , which always for breakfast can be eaten alone or broken into small pieces and added to the mix of cereals.
Good news for the sweet tooth. Bitter dark chocolate is one of the richest foods in iron (17.4 mg) and it too can be added as flakes to cereals or nuts or eaten on its own.
Always chocolate, brings many benefits to the brain, given by the flavonols contained in cocoa.
If you love a salty breakfast, it is important to know that eggs are also a very important source of iron, this time heme, being of animal origin.
.The simplest idea is to drink a freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice every morning. Alternatively you can eat a kiwi or add a little currants to cereals and dried fruit.
Beware of tea and coffee
On the other hand, there are also some foods that hinder the absorption of iron and which, therefore, must not be combined with those that favor it.
Already mentioned about the fibers, it is also important to pay attention to tea and coffee. This does not mean completely eliminating them from the diet, but it is preferable to consume them away from sources of iron, therefore not for breakfast.
Thumbs up also for wheat flour, which prevents 75% of its assimilation.
