Foods with high iron content?

Question

My brother in law has been diagnosed with hemochromatosis and as a result has a large tumor in his liver. We are looking for a list of foods with a high iron content that he needs to avoid. We know he should avoid red meat, but what about vegetables and grains?

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

(mg of iron /serving)
Clams 25.0
Liver, pork 16.0
Oysters 8.0
Liver, chicken 7.5
Mussels 5.7
Liver, beef 5.5
Beef 2.4
Shrimp 2.8
Sardines 2.4
Turkey/Lamb
Pork/Chicken 1.0
Fish 1.0


Enriched cream of wheat, 6.9 - 8.5
Amaranth, 7.4
Instant enriched oatmeal 4.2 - 6.7
Enriched cold cereal 3.9 - 5.3
Infant cereal, dry 4.7
Soybeans, 4.7
Pumpkin seeds, kernels, 4.3
Quinoa, dry 3.9
Blackstrap Molasses 3.6
Lentils, 3.5
1 Bagel 3.2
Red kidney beans, 2.8
Potato, with skin 2.7
Tofu, firm 2.7
Pasta, enriched, 2.5
Asparagus, canned 2.2
Lima beans, 2.2
Dried figs 2.1
Swiss chard, cooked 2.1
Refried beans, canned 2.1
Avocado 2.0
Sauerkraut 1.8
Cherries, sour, canned 1.8
Chickpeas, canned 1.7
Beets, canned 1.6
Hijiki, dry (seaweed) 1.5
Prune juice 1.6
Sunflower seeds, hulled 1.5
Soy milk beverage 1.5
Tomato juice 1.5
Wheat germ 1.4
Whole wheat bread 1.2
Barley, pearled, 1.1
Shredded wheat 1.1
Oatmeal, unenriched 1.0
Sesame butter (tahini) 1.0
Prunes, dried 1.0
Rice, brown, cooked 0.9
Peanut butter 0.9
medium Egg 0.7
Raisins 0.6
Broccoli, cooked 0.6

Answer 2

Caffeine and grapefruits inhibit iron absorption. Be careful though because grapefruit can interfere with medications. Caffeine can cause other problems. Polyphenol in some vegetables, calcium (dairy products), phyate in bran and tannis in tea also interferes with iron absorption.

Foods high in iron include: Liver, poultry, red meats and fish, apricots, peaches, prunes, apples, grapes, raisins, spinach, eggs and iron fortified foods such as many cereals.

You need to research all of the foods and make of list of what is good and what isn't. You could also ask to speak with a hospital dietician.

Answer 3

You should definitely avoid a lot of cereals, which already have iron, not to mention the additional amounts they fortify it with. Also avoid beans, baked potatoes with the skin on them, pastas and canned asparagus. I would also be wary of many canned items, but just cautious. Something that will really help you is to learn to pay very close attention to the nutritional facts labels on food products.

Answer 4

Cereals, Pulses, Meat and Vegetables.
Bagra-8.8 mg (Iron content /100 GM)
Wheat whole-5.3 mg.
Bengal gram-8.9 mg.
Peas dry- 4.4 mg.
Soya bean- 11.3 mg.
Bitter gau- 9.4 mg.
Egg- 2.1 mg.
Jaggery- 11.4 mg.
Betel leaves- 5.7 mg.
Coriander- 1.0 mg.
Methi- 16.9 mg.
Mint- 15.6 mg.
Tomato- 2.4 mg.
Mutton- 2.5 mg.
Primary hemochromatosis is an inherited disorder characterized by excessive iron accumulation causing tissue damage. Symptoms do not develop until organ damage, often irreversible, develops. Symptoms include fatigue, hepatomegaly, bronze skin pigmentation, loss of libido, arthalgias, and manifestations of cirrhosis, diabetes, or cardiomyopathy. Diagnosis is based on serum iron studies and gene assay. Treatment is with serial phlebotomies.

Answer 5

iron rich foods:
red meat
green, leafy vegetables
Clams
Pork Liver
Oysters
Chicken Liver
Mussels
Beef Liver
Beef
Shrimp
Sardines
Turkey

some food also help you absorb iron faster:
Meat/fish/poultry
Fruits: Orange, Orange Juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit etc
Vegetables: Broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green & red peppers
White wine

Answer 6

Molasses, and things like sesame seeds. It is mandatory for white flour to be fortified with iron to replace the iron lost from refining process. Breakfast cereals are also fortified. Chocolate has iron, although other elements in the chocolate inhibit the absorbtion of it, but I don't know whether this would make it ok for your bro in law.

Answer 7

Fortified breakfast cereals As been said - Clams(canned) Black Eyed Peas,Lentils Broccoli,Bok Choy Also eating foods rich in vitamin c along with these helps increase iron absorption.

Answer 8

I'm sorry to hear that, I hope he gets better soon. I have chronic iron overload that I must treat with drugs, since I am too anemic (and transfusion dependent) for phlebotomy.

Here is what reputable organizations say about this:

Diet! What do you eat when you have hemochromatosis?

No alcohol (especially if there has been liver damage)

No iron pills or vitamins containing iron

No vitamin C supplements
(orange juice, fruits, are fine)

No iron cookware

No raw seafood (cooked is fine) especially if there is liver damage, can cause fatal infection in liver compromised hemochromatosis patients

No fortified processed foods, such as 100% iron breakfast cereals

What about red meat? red wine? spinach?

You can deprive yourself of many foods which naturally contain iron, however, the important
thing to remember is that DIET does NOT prevent, control, or cure hemochromatosis, and that bloodletting (phlebotomy) is the treatment of choice and removes excess iron from the body more efficiently than any other known method at this time. While in the aggressive treatment (bloodletting) stage you should eat a well balanced diet to keep up your strength to continue your treatment.
http://americanhs.org/diet.htm

Hemochromatosis and Anemia Diet
This diet is especially important for those in protocol treatment

1. A low iron diet is not recommended or even possible to design. Iron is in everything
and foods that contain iron also provide other essential elements to help heal and rebuild
the body. Red meat is an important source of B vitamins. Fresh fruits and vegetables
benefit the liver more than processed foods.

2. Iron is not excreted. A normal metabolism for iron refrains from absorbing more than
the daily need. One milligram of iron is lost daily through hair, fingernails, dead skin cells
and other detritus. The average daily loss for menstruating woman is one and half
milligrams. That one or one and a half is the daily need despite outdated levels
recommended by the governmental agencies.

3. Body damage from iron injury is entirely preventable. Treatment is completely benign.
An individual with elevated iron should begin protocol treatment and be motivated to bring
ferritin to the lowest end of normal ranges. Then the patient must continue a maintenance
program to prevent the re-buildup. Each individual loads iron at a different rate. The first
year is experimental. Measure the ferritin - measure of storage iron - at the end of each year,
and adjust the schedule as necessary.

4. Protocol treatment is blood removal once or twice a week at the blood bank. The patient
should be well hydrated and should not skip meals. Treatment is inexpensive or free in some
cases and is effective. Such treatment will return the patient to a normal lifespan and reverse
most if not all symptoms.

5. With a hemoglobin of 10 or higher and a hematocrit of 30% or higher, a full unit of blood
should be drawn off once or twice a week. The blood is usable as donor blood when it meets
all safety criteria.

6. What about anemia? Anemias are iron-loading, except for anemias resulting from chronic
blood loss or tumor. When iron accumulates in storage instead being used by hemoglobin,
the patient's hemoglobin will test low. Iron should not be administered. Instead the patient needs
a complex of B vitamins, including B6, folate or folic acid and B12. The excess iron must be
removed despite the anemia.

7. When low iron is found, it is essential to seek the source of the blood loss or cancer.
Cancer cells require iron to proliferate. It is dangerous to medicate with iron without first
knowing the iron levels and then discovering the reason for low iron.

8. When anemia is severe enough to require transfusions, physicians should be aware that this
process will increase the dangerous iron burden. Iron must be simultaneously removed through
the iron chelator Desferal or a new chelator called Exjade.

9. Preventing liver cancer is the patient's primary goal. The patient should avoid medications
where possible and protect the liver. The physicians should use medications only when
absolutely necessary.

10. Alcohol should be avoided until the de-ironing process is completed. When liver
enzymes return to normal, the patient may cautiously ease back into social drinking.

11. Tylenol ® - acetemetaphen - should never be taken with alcohol. The patient who tests
with elevated liver enzymes, as many do, must avoid Tylenol ® altogether.

12. Those in protocol treatment will benefit from a B complex of vitamins, including B6, folic
acid or folate and B12. Low doses of vitamin E - below 50 International Units daily is also
beneficial.

13. Iron patients must check labels of processed foods for added iron or vitamin C. An
example is that oatmeal or shredded wheat should be selected instead of the breakfast
cereal Total ®.

14. Who should take iron? The only candidate for iron supplementation is an individual
who has had large portions of gut surgically removed.

15. The patient must not take any over-the-counter vitamin C as a pill. It has been found
to mobilize stored iron into the heart muscle where it sets up arrhythmia or heart rhythm
disturbances. It can also cause people to over absorb iron even from their ordinary diets.
And it can fire the iron that is stored in the joints and makes arthritis worse. Of course
everyone will need vitamin C in their diet. The source for vitamin C should be any
uncooked food. Fruits, juices and salads are excellent sources. Multi vitamins even
without iron should be avoided because of the vitamin C restriction.

16. The patient must not eat or handle raw seafood. Cooked is OK, but not raw. Iron
overloaded patients should also not walk on beaches barefoot. This is because of a
bacterium common in all sea water called Vibrio vulnificus. This bacterium when it
encounters stored iron is catastrophically toxic. Every year it is the cause of death and
maiming when an undiagnosed iron overloaded patient comes in contact with this bacteria.

17. Drinking tea can help inhibit iron absorption. Tannin is the blocking agent. The patient
should understand that this will not be a replacement for protocol treatment.

18. Excess iron stores in liver, heart, brain, pancreas, joints and everywhere. Iron oxidizes
- rusts - and results in deadly and expensive disease. Symptoms of heart disease, cancer,
cirrhosis, diabetes, arthritis, sexual dysfunction and others are completely preventable when
they are based on iron. Maintaining low iron levels improves immunity, making iron unavailable
to viruses, bacteria and cancer cells.

19. The most common of several iron storage diseases is hemochromatosis. It is caused
by the most frequently expressed genetic abnormality in any population and can result in the
metabolic defect that leads to iron overload. It is estimated that 42 million Americans are at
risk, including those with the double gene and those with the single gene expression. The
single mutation may result in enough excess iron to cause heart attack or stroke, aside from
full blown hemochromatosis.

Prepared by Iron Overload Disease Assn. Inc.
PO Box 15857
West Palm Beach, FL 33416
561-586-8246
http://www.ironoverload.org/Diet.html

Finally, please listen to the doctors and follow their instructions. This is serious, but treatable and there is no reason your brother in law can't recover and lead a healthy life. Best of luck to you all.