Boosting the immune system has become the topmost priority since the outbreak of COVID-19 across the world.
People have become more conscious of their health and are taking extra measures to cut down the risk of infection.
One thing that works the best to improve your immune health is your diet. Consuming foods with vitamins and minerals can keep you healthy and fit.
Several kinds of nutrients can help to boost your immunity and iron is just one of them.
Iron helps in improving haemoglobin levels which boosts oxygen supply to damaged cells, tissues, and organs resulting in the strengthening of your immune system.
And therefore, iron-rich foods are so important to include in your diet. Here are some foods to add to your diet.
1. Spinach
Spinach helps increase the haemoglobin count in the blood and is considered one of the best sources of iron. Apart from being high in iron content, it is also rich in Vitamin C (which is packed with numerous antioxidants and beta carotene), calcium, sodium, and phosphorus. Having slightly cooked spinach makes it easier to absorb Vitamin A.
2. Citrus fruits
These tangy fruits are highly rich in Vitamin C that increases the production of white blood cells and helps build the immune system. Some of the popular citrus fruits include oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, lemons, limes, etc.
3. Dry fruits
All the dry fruits, raisins, dates, apricots, almonds, fig works great to deal with iron deficiency in the body. They are healthy and really helpful in improving blood cell count by boosting the haemoglobin levels in the body.
4. Legumes
Legumes or beans like peas, lentils, chickpeas, and others are a great source of iron. Their consumption will help you protect from heart diseases, diabetes, inflammation, and high blood pressure.
5. Potatoes
It’s found that one medium baked potato is equal to 10 per cent of your daily iron intake. Since almost all potatoes are a good source of iron but still certain varieties have more nutrients than others.
6. Soya
100 gm of raw soybean contains up to 15.7 mg of iron making it a rich source of iron. One such soybean-based food is Tofu which also acts as a great source of protein, calcium, manganese, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, etc. It also maintains cholesterol levels reducing the risk of anaemia and cancer.
7. Chicken
Chicken liver is packed with iron and B vitamins. If you want to go for other meaty sources that are rich in iron, you can try eggs, beef, and turkey.
8. Fish
Seafood provides iron and proteins in low calories. If you want to know some specifics then anchovies, tuna, sardines, mackerel, and herring are excellent sources you can get iron from. They are also low in saturated fats and saturated in healthy fats, so there’s nothing fishy about this source of iron you see.