Can vegan kids get enough iron on a vegan diet?

Hi there, it's Jen. Welcome to this week's podcast where we're gonna talk about my favorite topic in vegan nutrition. And that is talking all about iron, so iron for vegan kids. Now before we start our deep dive into vegan iron, I just wanted to talk to you about my brand new vegan kids recipe book that is coming out in April. Now, this is going to be a physical book that you will be able to buy, it's not an e-book. I've had a few people asking me about that. So it's called Super boosted vegan snacks. And it's going to be full of vegan snacks that your kids will love that have been developed by me, a vegan nutritionist to be absolutely bursting four of the nutrients that your vegan kids need to thrive on their diet. 

They're going to be really high in iron, in zinc, in protein and then they'll have veggies and beans and all sorts of things in them. And they're recipes that I've tested on my kids and other kids and they all love them. So it's a really great way to make sure that your kids are getting the nutrition that they need rather than you sitting there trying to figure out a way how to get your kids to eat lots of spinach and lots of beans and lots of veggies. And we're going to be putting all the nutrients they need into foods that you know that they're going to be eating. 

So I'll pop the waitlist form. So make sure you sign up in the show notes and hop on the waitlist so that you'll know as soon as it's been released, and I'll be giving you updates and everything as well. So make sure you sign up to that below in the show notes. Alright, so let's get back to the big question. Can vegan kids get enough iron from a vegan diet? We are told everywhere, basically, that you need to be eating red meat for iron. 

I know when I was growing up, my parents didn't even let me go vegetarian because I always had really low iron levels. And they used to make me eat red meat as much as possible to try to get my iron levels up. And the funny thing is, their red meat that they made me eat never really seemed to affect my iron levels and my iron levels as a vegan now, I'm not someone who has really high iron levels, but they're certainly no worse than they used to be. Let me tell you. I know that barriers are real belief, I guess I mean, sort of stigma maybe I don't know if that's quite the right word. 

But there's definitely a strong belief out there that we really need to be eating red meat in order to be getting enough iron. So obviously then, when we cut out red meat on a vegan diet and all meat, the big question comes in of how do vegans actually get iron. The first thing I want to say is basically the national dietary guidelines, the guidelines that tell everyone and most importantly, tell omnivores what to eat. They're not actually expecting omnivores, to be getting all of their iron from red meat. The dietary guidelines basically recommend one to two servings of meat for kids a day. And a serve of meat is actually only 65 grams. So your kids are only supposed to be having between 65 and 130 grams of red meat a day. 

Now, that is only actually giving them two milligrams of iron and most kids need about 10. And the dietary guidelines actually recommend that kids don't have red meat every day, in fact that all people don't have red meat every day, red meat has been found to have a lot of health problems associated with it. And so the dietary guidelines do tell you to reduce your intake of red meat. And contrary to what a lot of people like to tell us, chicken and fish, they have hardly any iron in them at all. They only vaguely high iron chicken is the thighs and stuff because they've got more of the red meat in them, which I'm sure I'm really sorry if you're super vegan. I'm really sorry to be going so much into meat because I know that it's not always fun to talk about. 

But as I was saying, the national dietary guidelines that are telling omnivores, which foods they need to be getting to make sure that they're getting all their nutrition, and which foods they need to get enough iron. They don't even tell omnivores to be getting all of their iron from red meat. So even omnivores are supposed to be getting the bulk of their iron from other foods like whole grains and vegetables just like vegans. So, the belief that we need to be eating red meat and we should be eating a lot of red meat in order to get our iron is not really true. And it's not really based on anything other than I'm sure what the meat companies want us to be believing, obviously. 

But yeah, so how much is your kids actually need? Alright, so kids need around 10 milligrams a day everyone is different. And everyone needs a bit more a bit less, it depends, all our bodies are different. And so some of us absorb it better than others. And there's a lot of factors that influence how much iron that we absorb. But aiming for 10 milligrams a day for your kids, is a really good spot to start. Now, there are two points for your kids, that you need to worry about iron a little bit more. So when babies are between six and 12 months old, that's when they're starting to wean off breast milk or formula, and they're starting to eat other foods. 

And they are also they're growing through a huge growth stage, it's basically when we have the most growth in our lives, they need a lot of iron for sort of the amount of food they eat. So it's 11 milligrams. But when you think about babies of that age, a lot of them don't actually eat a lot of food. So it's really important that you make sure if you've got kids that age, or babies that you really do focus on iron for them. And basically any foods that you're giving them making sure that they have iron in what you're giving them. 

So the other time is for menstruating teenagers, or around when if kids are starting menstruating. So they need 50 milligrams then, which is a bit of a jump up. Now the other complication there also is that girls don't need as many calories as boys do and they don't eat as much food. So it can be a little bit trickier to make sure that girls are getting enough iron if they're menstruating. So you really do need to focus on making sure that you're including high iron foods for them at that time as well. 

Now, going back to the dietary guidelines, it's not like girls are supposed to be having a huge amount of red meat in the dietary guidelines. So even the dietary guidelines aren't expecting you to be getting iron from red meat as a menstruating teenager, either. So just to recap, most kids need around 10 milligrams, you really need to focus on kids up to 12 months to make sure that there is iron in whatever foods you're giving them. And also menstruating teenagers, you do need to make sure they're getting enough as well, because they have a higher iron requirement too. 

I know that one of the big things that you see a lot when it comes to vegetarian and vegan diets when it comes to iron is that the iron in meat is more readily absorbed than the iron in plant based foods. And so a lot of people say that this is a reason why you shouldn't be vegetarian or vegan is because you need to be having meat because it's more easily absorbed than plant based food iron is. Now technically, this is correct. But iron is very complicated. And there is a lot of research still to be done on iron. And so they don't fully understand how iron is absorbed and how it acts in the body. 

And a lot of the studies on iron have been done on what's paying iron, which is the iron that comes from meat and animal products versus non-heme iron, which is the stuff that comes from plant based iron sources. But what has been found is our bodies actually have mechanisms in them that can regulate how much iron we absorb. So if we actually have a lot of iron in our body already, then our body can actually reduce how much iron we're absorbing because too much iron is actually very dangerous for us and it can kill us if it gets very high. So our body has an inbuilt mechanism that makes sure we don't absorb too much if our iron is already high, and it actually helps us to absorb more if our iron levels are low. Now, this only works on plant based iron sources. It doesn't actually work on heme iron that comes from animal sources.

So if we have iron from animals sauces, it actually just goes straight through the mechanism and our body absorbs it all no matter what. Now, this is where you can end up with getting too much iron, which a lot of meat eaters can end up with, which is very dangerous. And as I said, it can actually kill, we can die from an overdose of iron, obviously, that's a huge amount. And you're not gonna have to worry about that as a vegan. But yes, so our bodies do actually regulate how much iron we have. And our bodies do actually have special things that mean, if we have low iron, it'll actually absorb more from the food that we're eating. 

So while technically, it is easier to absorb the iron from meat, because we just absorb all of it, it's not always better to absorb the iron from meat, because we do need to have that regulation in. Now, unfortunately, as I said, they are still studying a lot of this. So they don't really fully understand how it all works. And so they don't fully understand how plant based iron is absorbed. Now, another thing to also go back to, as I said before, the National Dietary Guidelines have been developed with the understanding that you're actually going to be getting the majority of your iron from plant based sources. 

So from whole grains and vegetables, and legumes as well. They include the amount of food that you need to get the amount of iron based on absorbing it from non meat sources. It's a little bit tricky. I'm trying really hard not to make this too complicated, because vegan iron is very complicated. But yeah, so basically, the amount that is given the 10 milligrams that is there, that they recommend, has been based on having plant based iron sources as well. So your kids can definitely get enough iron from the 10 milligrams that is recommended. And that's from plant based sources. 

Now, another question that I often get is, should you be giving your kids a iron supplement, just to make sure that they're getting enough iron. And my answer to that is actually no, you shouldn't be giving your kids just a blanket iron supplement. Now, the reason why I say no is that our bodies, the way that we absorb iron is actually the same, we use the same sort of receptors in our bodies to absorb zinc and calcium as well. So because the same sort of receptors in our body are absorbing all three, it is really important that we keep those three nutrients in the right balance. If we have too much of one of them, then it can actually stop us from being able to absorb the other two properly. 

Now we hear a lot about iron and about how iron is really important. But the truth is for vegans, zinc is actually a more important nutrient, especially for boys. And so if you are having too much iron, then it can actually mean that you're not absorbing enough zinc. The same goes with calcium as well. If you have too much calcium, then it can actually stop the absorption of iron and zinc as well. That happens a lot in omnivore diets where kids are having dairy milk, which is really high in calcium. And it's really common for kids who are having a lot of dairy milk to then end up with iron deficiency because their bodies aren't able to absorb enough iron. 

Now, this doesn't happen very often with plant based milks, because So for starters for soy milk, which is really high in calcium, soy milk actually has iron in it as well. And in studies, they're found that the calcium in soy milk is actually absorbed differently to the calcium in dairy milk. And so the same effects haven't happened as much. But having said that, I do recommend that you don't give your kids too much calcium fortified soy milk, because there is the possibility that it will impact how much iron they're having. 

But I will talk about calcium in more detail in a future podcast. Otherwise, this podcast will end up going on forever. As I said, I love iron but it's very complicated. Yeah. So anyway, so going back to iron supplements. The problem is so our body is able to regulate the absorption of iron and zinc and calcium when they're all coming from food. But when you have a supplement and so you have a big amount of iron coming In, then it can actually interrupt that. And so if you give your kids iron supplements when they don't need them, then they can actually end up not getting enough zinc or not getting enough calcium. 

Now, if your kids have an iron deficiency, then of course, they need to be having an iron supplement, because they're not going to be able to build their iron levels up fast enough. But you do need to go to your GP or your doctor and get their levels checked before you start supplementing. And then work with the doctor to have their levels monitored. And then basically, the intention of the supplements should be to get their iron levels back up. And then you should be bringing in higher iron foods on their diet, in order to replace the iron that they're not getting enough of. So that then you can wean off the tablets. 

So if you're after high iron recipes, then the snacks in my recipe book that's coming out, there are going to be a lot of really high iron snacks in there. So that's a really good place to start. If you need any help with snacks. Also come and join the community, I will have the link for that one below. So come and join my facebook community as well. And we share recipes in there and you can ask any questions. I'm always happy to answer questions and give recipe ideas and things like that. 

Basically, when it comes to supplements, don't just do a blanket supplement because it can interrupt their absorption of other nutrients. But definitely, if they have a deficiency, then of course do that. And it's far more important to focus on making sure they're getting enough iron from their food. So that then you don't have to rely on a supplement. So having said all that, what are the best iron sources for kids. So many people focus a lot on spinach for iron, but there are much better sources of iron for vegan kids than spinach. 

So you don't have to sit there and try to figure out how to get your kids to eat spinach. It's okay, there are plenty of other options. So the first one, the easiest way to increase your child's iron is to switch to whole grains or whole meal foods or whole wheat depending on where you live as what they're called. So basically, if you can switch any bread they're eating any like any of the flour in the cooking that you're doing any pasta switch to brown rice, or even quinoa as well is a good one. 

Any of that, you're going to be basically increasing them to about six milligrams of iron a day. That's if your kids have a serve of grainy type foods like that in each meal. So that will get them up to about six milligrams a day, which as I said before, they need about 10. So you're basically halfway there just by switching them on to Hormel Foods. Now I know that switching on to Hormel Foods isn't the easiest. And I do have a nutrition course that comes out later in the year, but does have a module in it, which teaches how to do that. 

If that's something that's really not available to you right now, if your kids really aren't going to switch then that's okay. But look out for my nutrition course later in the year. It's called healthy vegan kids. And it does go through how to do that. But anyway, so that is the first one going to whole meal foods. My absolute favorite high iron food is cocoa powder. Now, this is just plain cocoa powder. I'm not saying cacao or anything, it's just the plain bitter cocoa powder you get from the supermarket. 

A tablespoon of cocoa powder has two milligrams of iron in it just over two milligrams of iron. So one tablespoon of cocoa powder has the same amount of iron as a piece of steak. So I know which one I would prefer my kids to be eating and which one would be a lot easier for my kids to eat. So yeah, so you can just put cocoa into bliss balls into smoothies. For myself, I always have a smoothie every morning and it has two tablespoons of cocoa in it. So it's giving me over four milligrams of iron just in that.

Yeah, so cocoa is the best. That also does translate to dark chocolate is quite high in iron as well. It's good iron sauce when you've got them the more milk ones and obviously white chocolate doesn't have any cocoa powder in it. So it's not a good iron source. But the darker you get, the more iron the chocolate has. So obviously you could just do a hot chocolate for your kids each afternoon with cocoa and sugar to sweeten it. And that would be a great iron boost for them. My next favorite iron source are pumpkin seeds, like just pumpkin seeds or pumpkin kernels that you can get from the supermarket. They are super high in iron. 

So two tablespoons of pumpkin seeds has nearly two and a half milligrams of iron in it. So now, pumpkin seeds I don't normally give them to my kids straight. Although there is a bluey episode where bingo has pumpkin seeds, which worked really well for getting my kids to try having pumpkin seeds. So that's a good one. If your kids love Bluey, then that can be a really good way of getting your kids to eat pumpkin seeds. But I tend to just put them you can replace any nuts in recipes with pumpkin seeds, I put them in protein balls, there's going to be lots of rest protein bowl recipes in my recipe book that's coming that have pumpkin seeds in them, or you can put them in. 

And so I do that or I grind them up and I put them in muffins and things. You can also make a Parmesan with them. So just grind them up, put some nutritional yeast with them and a bit of salt and it works really well as a parmesan as well. So pumpkin seeds are a really great way oh, and obviously they go in smoothies really well too. So my smoothie that I do for myself to make sure I get enough iron. As I said it has the two tablespoons of cocoa powder in it. And I put two tablespoons of pumpkin seeds in it as well. 

So what I'm up to just over four for the cocoa, two and a half, so six and a half milligrams of iron in my smoothie already, just with those two things. Now, next favorite iron sauce for kids are cashews. So cashews don't have quite as much iron as Pumpkinseed. So two tablespoons of cashews has one milligram of iron. But cashews are great because they're slightly sweet. And you can grind them up and put them into cooking into any of your baking and stuff. And they're a little bit sweet. So kids quite like them. 

Kids will also have them on their own. And then they also blend into milks or smoothies really well because they're really creamy. So cashews are a great one to add into things to increase their iron. Now my last really good iron source. If you have kids and you're kind of listening to this and going Gen, I really don't know how I'm gonna get my kids to eat pumpkin seeds or cashews or even cocoa powder. And another one that is really great, especially for fussier kids are Cheerios, the Uncle Tobys Cheerios Cereal. 

Now I have to say this is in Australia only because unfortunately, over in the UK and the US, they actually have on vegan vitamin D in Cheerios. Over here in Australia, they don't, which is really good. And half a cup of Cheerios gives your kids three milligrams of iron, which is a really good amount for them to be having. I often will give my kids some Cheerios in there lunchboxes are a really good kind of crunchy snack. And they are really good for kids, especially if your kids like processed foods more, because they do have kind of the crunch that a lot of other processed foods have as well. So they're a really good one, especially if your kids are fussy. 

Now, I know that there is a caramel coloring in the normal Cheerios, if you're worried about sort of additives and stuff like that. The vanilla low sugar ones are really good. Oh, and that's the other thing with Cheerios, they're really low in sugar too even just the ordinary wholegrain ones. So they are a much lower sugar cereal. And they're really high in iron and they are super high in zinc, which is another nutrient I'll be covering in a few weeks. Cheerios are a really good one, especially if you have fussier kids. 

So that's basically my overview of iron. I've noticed how long I'm going on this podcast. So I think I need to stop here. As I said, I really liked talking about iron. It's my favorite subject, especially because I've always had a low iron myself as well. As I said before, you're looking at around 10 milligrams of iron for your kids per day. My favorite sauces are just plain switching to whole grains. Cocoa powder is a really good one, pumpkin seeds, cashews and Cheerios. 

Next week, I'm going to be breaking down some really practical ways of making sure that you get enough iron into your kids each day. So I have two very fussy eating kids. And so I'm going to go through how I make sure each of them get enough iron. So make sure you tune in next week to get some really practical ideas on how to make sure your kids are getting enough iron. All right, I will talk to you then.