This month, Ginny looks into whether vegetarians are vulnerable to anemia , she answers questions on onions, caloric deficits, and B vitamins , and finally she gives advice and a one-day eating plan to a teen who wants to become vegan. In terms of the general population, a vegetarian diet is just as good for providing adequate iron as a diet that contains meat. However, things are always a little bit more complicated when we start looking at individual cases with unusual conditions like very severe anemia. You are right that vegetarian diets are excellent sources of iron.
Vegetarian diets are quite a bit higher in iron than omnivore diets.
Iron is not as well absorbed from plant foods, however, so that vegetarians tend to absorb less iron overall into their bloodstream and they have lower stores of iron in their bodies. You can boost your iron absorption considerably by eating plenty of vitamin C which is very effective in increasing iron absorption. But it's important to include a good source of vitamin C at every meal to make sure that iron absorption is high throughout the day. But make no mistake about it, too little iron is bad, too. Usually, when people have a serious iron deficiency, the treatment involves iron supplements.