Iron is an essential nutrient for our overall health and faster weight loss. Unfortunately, approximately 10 million Americans are iron deficient—including 5 million who have iron deficiency anemia. Anemia comes with symptoms of irritability, severe tiredness, headaches, rapid heartbeat, general weakness, and even hair loss. Thankfully, there are plenty of healthy foods with iron you can eat to help you meet your daily needs.
To learn more about the iron-rich foods to burn fat faster, we spoke with Blanca Garcia, a registered dietitian and a nutritionist at MIDSS. She first explains why iron is important for weight loss, “Iron is an important mineral that helps transport oxygen to throughout the body. Not having enough oxygen can affect energy levels and mood. Not having enough iron in your body can affect your energy levels to exercise. This can therefore impact weight loss. Consuming foods that are rich in iron can help maintain energy levels to lose weight.” Garcia recommends eating the iron-rich foods white beans and spinach for faster weight loss. This is because these plant-based foods have high iron levels without the cholesterol found in animal-based foods. Find out more below!
1. White Beans
One of the best types of plant-based, iron-rich foods for weight loss is legumes. Lentils, peas, chickpeas, soybeans, and peanuts are legumes that are particularly high in iron. But, white beans are by far the best. "In general, all legumes contain iron. But white beans contain the most; you can get 6.6mg of iron per 1 cup," Garcia explains. This superfood is also great for boosting your metabolism.
Plus, there are so many ways you can cook white beans for weight loss. Garcia has some suggestions: "You can add white beans to soups and stews, but this is an excellent legume to cook and make into a puree to add to other foods and fortify them with iron. You can make mashed potatoes and add the mashed white beans to make iron-rich mashed potatoes." Yum!
2. Spinach
Another great iron-rich food for weight loss that Garcia suggests is spinach. This leafy vegetable is particularly interesting because its iron levels change when it's cooked. "One cup of raw spinach can give you 1 mg of iron, but cook it, and the heat makes iron more accessible and can provide 6.43 mg of iron," she notes. The iron and antioxidant levels in spinach are also beneficial for hair growth. Of course, you can still eat spinach raw to get some iron, but not as much if it's cooked.
Garcia says that spinach is her "favorite go-to iron-rich vegetable." This is because "it's versatile in that you can freeze it and always have spinach available to make soups and stews." And spinach's mild flavor means that you can actually add a few cooked leaves into an anti-inflammatory smoothie without the bitter taste.
And, you can incorporate white beans and spinach leaves into one tasty, iron-rich meal. "A good combination is a quesadilla with mashed white beans mixed with cheese and a handful of spinach leaves before cooking the quesadilla." Doesn't that sound tasty?
The Bottom Line
Overall, there are plenty of iron-rich foods that can help with weight loss. Garcia highly recommends white beans and cooked spinach to improve iron levels without the high cholesterol that comes with animal-based foods. Thankfully, there are so many delicious ways to prepare white beans and cooked spinach for weight loss. Just remember that simply eating iron-rich foods won't help you lose weight. You must also get plenty of sleep, avoid processed foods, consume healthy foods, and consistently exercise.
