Quote:
Originally Posted by tigger175
I wouldn't say we need red meat is the real source of iron. I am a vegetarian and I haven't eaten red meat (or any meat/fish) in years. I also get my blood checked and my iron levels are fine.
For example, you would have to eat more than 1700 calories of sirloin steak to get the same amount of iron as found in 100 calories of spinach (though that honestly is quite a bit of spinach).
(http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm)
The iron in spinach is not absorbed as easily as that in meat, even in smaller quantities. If you are not anemic, then there is nothing to worry about, and certainly, you can be veggie and not be anemic.
However, for people who are anemic, it can be very tough to get the levels up to where they need to be. So for someone who does eat red meat, that is a good way to help that process. I'd never tell a vegetarian to eat meat for iron, but if someone already is a meat eater, focusing on non-meat sources just makes it a lot harder to treat the deficiency.
(no, I'm not a doctor, but I've been dealing with anemia for most of my adult life - they think I don't process/absorb iron properly although they've never been able to figure out why, so I try to get the best boost I can from my diet and then supplement)