Ramp-Up Your Iron for Cold Season
Cold, dark winter days make keeping up our mental and physical energy a challenge. That’s why it’s especially important to ensure you’re getting the proper nutrients for good health.
For example, when iron is low, it can result in loss of energy and dizziness and may affect your immune system. Iron is also an essential mineral that aids in the transportation of oxygen throughout the body, so it supports brain function and healthy cells and tissue like skin, hair and nails.
Gail Rampersaud, a registered dietitian, shares her top food choices you can be integrating into your family’s diet for a boost of iron:
Get Your Greens
Pump up meals by adding iron-rich, vegetables like broccoli, lentils, lima or kidney beans, raw spinach or other leafy greens.
Snack on These
Pack your lunches with snackable iron sources like pumpkin seeds, roasted almonds, sunflower seeds, dried apricots, seedless raisins and prunes.
Drink it In
By introducing a full glass of Florida orange juice to your diet every day, you’ll provide your body with 100 per cent of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C, as well as essential nutrients like potassium and folate. “Vitamin C can play a role in regulating the absorption, transportation and storage of plant-based forms of iron. So pair a glass of OJ with your iron-rich foods to keep iron and energy levels up,” explains Rampersaud.
