The 10 best yoga poses for men

Try these poses from Baron Baptiste, yoga pro and former assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles.

We know you love yoga—for your girlfriend. Her weekly practice makes her bendy in bed, more chill overall and therefore more sexy even when she’s lounging around. Well, we’ve got news for you. Yoga isn’t a ladies-only thing like going to the bathroom in packs or opening store credit cards only to get 5 percent off the purchase. In fact, taking one yoga class per week or doing a couple of pre-workout poses can increase endurance, build strength, prevent injuries, and may even stave off heart disease.

How? “Men often suffer from tightness particularly in the hips, hamstrings, and shoulders that can lead to injury or weakness,” says Baron Baptiste, creator of Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga and former assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles. “Over-training in any one sport can cause repetitive stress and other more serious injuries. Yoga is a full-body workout that creates both strength and flexibility. You need to have both. One without the other is a recipe for disaster.” Not sure where to start? Practice these 10 poses in this order, which Baptiste says benefit men because they stretch out guys’ tightest spots (like the shoulders, hips, and groin) and strengthen muscles that get no love during workouts (like the low back and knees).

Forward Fold
Stretches hamstrings, calves, and hips; strengthens legs and knees
Stand with feet hip-width apart, gently hinge forward at the hips and lower the torso toward the floor. Bend your knees generously to take any pressure out of the low back and hamstrings. Grasp opposite elbows with opposite hands. Breathe deeply and let gravity take the body toward the earth. Relax your head, neck, shoulders and torso. Slowly sway your torso or gently shake your head. Hold for one minute and roll back up to standing.

Why it’s good for you: This is a great move to use as part of a warm-up for any workout.

We often have a hard time knowing when we are holding excess tension in our head, neck and shoulders, and that buildup of tension can create headaches, insomnia, poor circulation and decreased lung capacity. If you practice slow, steady breathing along with this pose, it can lower your blood pressure over time.

Downward-Facing Dog
Stretches feet, shoulders, hamstrings, and calves; strengthens arms, legs, and core
Start on your hands and knees with your feet and knees hip-width apart. Position your hands about shoulder-width apart, and spread your fingers wide. Pressing firmly through your hands, lift your knees off the floor and straighten your legs. (If you have tight hamstrings, a gentle bend in the knees is fine). Walk your hands forward a few inches, and walk your feet back a few inches to lengthen the pose. Squeeze your thighs as you press them toward the back wall. Press your heels back and down toward the floor (though they might not reach the floor). Relax your head and neck and let your shoulder blades slide down your back toward your feet. Set your gaze between your feet. Suck your stomach in and engage your core muscles. Breathe deeply. Hold for three minutes, rest, and repeat one more time.

Why it’s good for you: We often experience back pain due to chronic tightness in the hamstrings and hips. It’s also common for us to have very tight shoulders. Down Dog releases those areas, while building upper body strength. If you can do only one pose a day, start with Downward Dog.

Chair
Stretches shoulders and chest; strengthens thighs, calves, spine, and ankles
Stand up tall with your big toes touching. Inhale and raise your arms straight up to the ceiling alongside your head and neck with palms facing each other. Drop your shoulders down your back as you lengthen up through the neck. As you exhale, bend your knees, sit down and back as if you were sitting in a chair (like doing a squat with your feet together). Do not let your knees extend past your toes. With each inhale lengthen the spine. With each exhale sit a little deeper in the chair. Eventually your thighs will be parallel to the floor. Drop your tailbone down toward the floor to take any stress out of your lower back.  Keep your core muscles engaged and keep your knees and thighs pressed tightly together. Hold for 30 seconds.

Why it’s good for you: No gym necessary! Chair pose torches abdominal fat while strengthening the thighs and legs.

Crescent Lunge
Loosens tight hips by stretching the groin; strengthens arms and legs
Start on your hands and knees. Step your right foot between your hands into a lunge, keeping your right knee directly above your heel. Inhale and slowly lift your back knee off the floor. Press your back heel toward the wall behind you as you begin to straighten the back leg. Keep your spine long as you hold and breathe. Let your hips fall forward as you continue to press the back heel behind you. Hold for one minute and then repeat on the second side. Do each side twice.

Why it’s good for you: Tight hips can cause lower back pain, knee strain, and injury, which can keep you out of the game, out of the gym, and in pain at your desk. Add Crescent Lunge to your pre-workout routine to open the hips.

Warrior I
Stretches shoulders and hips; strengthens upper and lower body
Come into Crescent Lunge with your right foot forward in the lunge. Spin your left toes to face the left side of the room and press your heel down. Your back foot should be parallel with the front of the room. Inhale and reach your arms up alongside your head with your palms facing each other. Drop your shoulders down your back. Bring your torso up and off the front thigh. Don’t let your front knee extend past the toes.  Both hips should face forward. Hold for one minute. Repeat on the opposite side.

Why it’s good for you: Warrior increases space and mobility in areas where men need it most—shoulders, hips, and knees. It’s another pose that generates great stability in and around the knee, so increases stability for high-impact workouts.

Bridge
Stretches chest, neck, spine, and hips  
Lie on your back, bend your knees, and place your feet flat on the floor hip-width apart. You should be able to tickle the backs of your heels with your hands. Place your arms on the floor alongside your body, palms down, and as you inhale, lift your hips off the floor and press them to the ceiling. Keep your knees directly over your heels. For an added shoulder stretch slide your arms under your body, interlace your fingers, and press the backs of your arms into the floor as you continue to lift your hips. Hold for 45 seconds and with each breath, let your hips float a little higher. Exhale when you lower your hips. Repeat 3 times.

Why it’s good for you: Many men are tight in the intercostal muscles and connective tissue surrounding the rib cage, which can limit lung capacity. Bridge pose opens the chest and releases those tight muscles, allowing for fuller, easier breaths. Over time, practicing this pose can improve performance in all physical activities and is helpful for relieving upper respiratory issues.

Bow Pose
Stretches hips, shoulders, and thighs; strengthens back
Lie on your stomach and reach your arms back toward your feet with the palms facing up. Bend your knees so that your heels come in toward your buttocks. Inhale and grab the outside of your ankles (right ankle in right hand, left ankle in left hand). Press your ankles into your hands and your hands into your ankles as you lift your thighs off the floor. Breathe deeply and fully as you continue pressing your legs up and back. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat two or three times. If you are very tight in the hips or quadriceps, you may want to try one leg at a time.

Why it’s good for you: One of the best stress-busting poses, Bow opens the chest to allow you to take in more oxygen. Strong abs are great, but can lead to injury if you don’t strengthen the back, too. Bow pose takes care of this, reducing your risk of injury due to muscular imbalance.

Boat Pose
Strengthens abs, spine, arms and hip flexors
Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet on the floor in front of you. Place your hands behind your glutes and lean into the arms for support. Engage your core muscles and keep a perfectly straight spine as you lift your right leg and then the left, bringing them to a 45-degree angle with the floor. Bring your legs together and imagine squeezing a book between your thighs to keep them active. Lift through the sternum and slowly straighten your legs while keeping your torso straight (if it starts to collapse, keep a slight bend in the knees). Press through the balls of the feet and spread your toes wide. Reach your arms toward the front of the room, on either side of your legs, keeping them in line with your shoulders, palms facing down. Hold for 30 seconds, working up to a minute or longer.

Why it’s good for you: In addition to strengthening the core and back muscles, Boat promotes healthy thyroid and prostate gland function.

Hero Pose
Stretches knees, ankles and thighs
Begin in a kneeling position with knees touching. Bring your heels out alongside your buttocks, keeping your shins and ankles pressing down into the floor. If you can, sit your buttocks on the floor between your legs. If this is uncomfortable, place a phone book or block beneath you to lessen the tension in the knees and ankles. You will feel a strong stretching sensation, but you should not feel pain. This is a progressive pose and your body will adapt to it over time. Hold for one minute and keep your breath slow and deep. Rest, and repeat a second time.

Why it’s good for you: Hero pose stabilizes and strengthens the vulnerable knee joints while lubricating the connective tissues in and around the knee with blood, oxygen, and fluid, making it an essential pose for runners.

Reclining Big Toe
Stretches hips, thighs, hamstrings, groins, and calves; strengthens the knees
Lie on your back and extend your left leg toward the ceiling at a 90-degree angle with your right leg extended along the floor. Flex both feet. Bend your left knee and bring the knee in toward your chest using your hands. Hug it tightly against your body to relax your hip. Next, loop a strap around your left foot and slowly straighten the left leg back to 90 degrees. Press your right thigh firmly down against the floor. Hold for 5 breaths and repeat on the opposite side. Repeat twice on each side.

Why it’s good for you: This pose stimulates the prostate gland and improves digestion. Runners may find it useful for relieving sciatica caused by a tight piriformis.

Finish in Corpse Pose, lying flat on your back with your arms alongside your body.  Close your eyes and breathe naturally. Stay here for at least two to three minutes and allow every muscle to melt into the floor beneath you.

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Fight your addiction?

Exercise and watch what you eat. Simple, right? Or not. What if other forces were at work, trying to add to your frame until you join the 58 per cent of the world predicted to be overweight or obese by 2030? Many scientists now believe that it's not your stomach you should worry about-it's your brain. In the past two years, scientists have published nearly 40 studies on whether the temptation of food can veer into actual addiction or not.

Think the addiction concept is an overeater's cop-out? Experts don't. Scientists speculate that only some people are truly addicted to food. "However, a far greater number of us may be vulnerable to the ways food can trick the brain into making us eat more than we want to," says Dr JD Mukherji, neurologist, Max Healthcare, New Delhi. "And with the current profusion of food-themed TV shows and an escalating fast-food arms race, it's becoming more and more difficult for our brains to resist cues to overeat." Fight back with these tactics, and gain mastery over your meals.

Control your survival instinct
We exist on the planet because of fat and sugar, those valued treasures in the evolutionary struggle. Fat was survival fuel for cavemen, says Nicole M Avena, PhD, a food addiction researcher and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Florida. The macronutrient contains more calories per gram (9, in fact) than either protein or carbs. And back in the day, sugar carbohydrates helped keep us alert to potential dangers. Today we and our deskbound brethren burn far fewer calories, yet we maintain that Cro-Magnon connection to the pleasures that high-fat, high-sugar foods bring to our brains, says Avena. So the food we're wired to desire isn't always the food we need.

A 2010 Scripps Research Institute study found that when rats were presented with a "cafeteria-style" diet of large amounts of high-fat food, they ate almost twice as many cal ories as rats given only standard laboratory chow. It's another piece of evidence that fatty, sugary foods may be more habit-forming than other foods. Yes, humans are more evolved than rats, but who hasn't had a similar experience at an unlimited pizza-and-dessert buff et?

Break the habit: "Make your calories work longer. Because you no longer need to amass large stores of calories until your next mas todon kill, choose foods that have nutrients with staying power. Aim to eat at least 20 to 40gm of protein per meal, and about 25 to 35gm of fibre over the course of the day," says Dr Sonia Kakar, a New Delhibased nutritionist. These nutrients promote fullness, may dampen the reward response to overeating and will help you fend off cravings so you eat fewer calories at later meals. Even at that pizza buffet.

Stop getting high
On food, that is. In a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers found that the brains of food-addicted people who consumed a high-calorie milkshake responded the same way the brains of drug addicts respond to a dose of cocaine. "Food addicts have the same reward signals and signs of dopamine dys function as drug addicts have," says Dr Rajesh Kumar, neurologist, Rockland Hospital, New Delhi. And like drug addicts, food addicts may relapse when they try to curb their indulging tendencies.

"Unlike drugs, food keeps us alive. Untang ling that association can be difficult," Dr Mukherji says. Certain foods may also have the same mood-boosting properties as drugs have. In a 2011 study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, participants who ingested a saturated-fat solution felt happier after listening to sad music than those who ingested a saline solution. It turns out that comfort food might actually comfort us-and that makes it even more challenging to resist.

Break the habit: "You don't need psychotherapy to stop emotional eating. You just need to reverse the reward patterns. That means hitting the pause button," says Dr Kumar. "Recognise triggers for what they are, ride out the emotions, and then praise yourself for doing so. It's difficult at first, but each time you reinforce the positive behaviour, you drive emotional eating into extinction," Dr Mukherji says.

Avoid mindless eating
It's happened to us all: you have a brutal day at work, and the first thing you do after your gruelling commute is raid your helpless refrigerator. Feels good, doesn't it? "It's because you've conditioned yourself," says Dr Mukherji. "People eat for any number of reasons-they're happy, sad, stressed, bored, anxious. When the trigger occurs, like your pet dog you start salivating," Dr Mukherji says. The more often you use a fridge raid as a stress buster, the more your brain will come to expect that behaviour. Every time you see the fridge, you get attracted. Repeating this cycle can reinforce the habit.

Break the habit: Think of your growing belly, not your growling stomach. Mindless eating is just that-your brain shuts down as your gullet opens up. "We've found that most people focus only on the short-term rewards when it comes to foods," says Dr Mukherji. "But what we've generally witnessed is that if you can train yourself to focus on the long-term consequences- the weight gain, the sickness-then you'll activate your prefrontal cortex, or the 'brakes' in your brain that may prevent you from overeating. Once you can stop yourself from giving in to those momentary temptations, half the battle is won," opines Dr Mukherji.

Escape the food traps
It's hard to resist the siren call of the 24-hour meal. "Our modern eating environment isn't like it was 10,000 years ago. Cheap, high-calorie foods are available on every corner," says Dr Kakar. Fast-food joints pump out aromas to entice you, and "food porn" TV shows are spliced with ads for double-stuffed pizzas and towering burgers. "For people who have a tendency to overeat, these stimulating cues trigger unhealthy food behaviours," she says.

Break the habit: Limit your exposure to triggers. Ask your server for the bill before the dessert menu gets a chance to reach the table. Change the channel if commercials start splashing unhealthy foods across the screen. Think twice about that pizza buff et. And if there's a burger chain gassing the road with charbroiled aromas on your way to the healthy food joint, take a detour. "The less you engage with these cues, the easier it will be to eventually stop the behaviour," Dr Kumar says.

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Baking Soda for Skin Problems

In a typical household, baking soda has many important functions. It removes odors from the refrigerator, cleans the kitchen sink, freshens laundry, and makes an appearance in a variety of tasty recipes. But baking soda can also play an important role in your beauty regimen when its used to treat and relieve skin problems.

Benefits

A natural cleaning agent, baking soda is an effective product for cleansing the skin and removing cosmetics, lotions, perfumes, dirt and oils. For deep cleaning, add half a cup of baking soda to bath water and soak for 15 to 20 minutes. And with its mildly gritty texture, it can also be used for gently skin exfoliation. To exfoliate the skin -- whether your face, knees, elbows or heels -- mix the baking soda with a small amount of water to form a thick paste and massage it into the skin in a circular motion. Some people might also notice that baking soda helps relieve redness, treat acne, even skin tone, or minimize the appearance of pores.

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Considerations

Although baking soda is a mild and gentle product, the potential for skin irritation is always possible. If your skin becomes red, itchy, dry or painful after applying the baking soda treatment, rinse it immediately and avoid using baking soda in the future.

Other Uses

Along with treating various skin problems, baking soda can also be incorporated into other aspects of your beauty routine. A bit of baking soda mixed into your shampoo can help remove hair product build-up. And if you don't have time for a shower, sprinkle dry baking soda onto the hair to absorb oil and freshen hair quickly. Baking soda can also be used to whiten the teeth, refresh the fingernails and toenails, and relieve pain from heat rashes, sunburns and insect bites.

Other Home Remedies

If your skin care frustration has inspired you to give up beauty products and seek out new remedies from your kitchen cabinets, baking soda is not your only option. The Ladies' Home Journal website recommends using banana and avocado to moisturize skin or coarse sea salt mixed with olive oil to exfoliate skin. Additional ingredients to use include egg whites for skin toning and oatmeal for treating acne and soothing skin.

Allergy Concerns

Before applying any type of product to your sin -- baking soda or otherwise -- do a patch test to check for allergies. For a patch test, make a small amount of the concoction you plan to apply to your skin. Gently massage a small amount of the mixture onto the skin of your inner arm. Over the next 24 hours, check the area for signs of an allergic reaction, including redness, rash, swelling or itchiness.

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What Are Some Diet Guidelines to Keep Your Heart Healthy

Limit Sodium

The American Heart Association recommends limiting sodium to less than 1,500 mg a day. Sodium is essential in your body helping to transmit nerve impulses, maintain proper fluid balance in your body, and aid in the contraction and relaxation of your muscles, though very little is needed. To put this number in perspective, one tablespoon of salt contains 2,325 mg of sodium. Adding salt to your foods during cooking and eating is not the only consideration because an average of 77 percent of sodium in the American diet is from processed foods. Therefore, limiting processed foods and reading nutrition labels for sodium content are important.

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and minerals that your body needs. They help your heart health because they contain high amounts of fiber and few calories. You should eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, focusing on fresh produce when possible, or low-sodium canned vegetables and fruits packed in water, not syrup. Fruits and vegetables can help fill you up, making it easier for you to avoid unhealthy high fat foods while also containing substances that might help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Low-Fat Protein

When choosing protein sources, focus on lower-fat options. Switch to low-fat or no-fat dairy products. When eating poultry, opt for skinless white meat. Egg whites and egg substitutes are good options. Limit high-fat marbled cuts of meat. Nuts, seeds, legumes and soy products are all good lower-fat protein sources. Aim to eat two 3.5 oz. servings of fish a week, as its unsaturated fatty acids might lower your cholesterol. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish are thought to reduce inflammation in your body, helping to prevent damage to your blood vessels that contributes to heart disease.

Whole Grains

All grains contain a bran, germ and endosperm. When grains are refined, they go through a process of milling that removes the bran and germ. Grains that are left whole provide more fiber and nutrients. This whole fiber helps lower your blood cholesterol and makes you feel full longer, helping you feel satiated, which can aid in managing your weight. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that at least half of your grain servings be whole grains.

Limit Unhealthy Fats and Cholesterol

One of the most significant dietary changes you can make to lower your cholesterol, and therefore lower your risk of developing heart disease, is limiting unhealthy fats. Saturated fats increase your total blood cholesterol and your low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol -- the "bad" cholesterol. Trans fats increase your LDL cholesterol while decreasing your high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol -- the "good" cholesterol. Most fats that are high in saturated and trans fats are solid at room temperature, such as butter, stick margarine, beef fat and pork fat. Switch to monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which have been shown to improve blood cholesterol levels, such as olive oil and canola oil.

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Heart Healthy Diet Foods List

Heart disease kills more American men and women than any other disease. The underlying cause of heart disease is often buildup of fatty deposits in the coronary arteries that supply the heart. High levels of cholesterol in the blood produce these fatty deposits, called plaque. Plaque narrows the coronary arteries, interfering with blood flow to the heart and raising the risk of a heart attack. Eating a heart healthy diet is a strategy to lower the likelihood you will develop heart disease. Consult your doctor to develop a dietary regimen appropriate for you.

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are an essential part of a heart healthy diet. Besides their rich content of vitamins and minerals, most fruits and vegetables are high in fiber, which keeps the digestive tract working well and helps decrease levels of low-density lipoprotein, the "bad" cholesterol associated with heart disease. Choose high-fiber fruits such as apples, bananas, berries and citrus fruits, and consume vegetables such as legumes, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and sweet potatoes. The American Heart Association recommends adding eight to 10 servings of vegetables and fruits to your daily diet.

Whole-grain Foods

Whole-grain foods are also rich in fiber and help maintain cardiovascular health. The Mayo Clinic says that fiber also helps regulate blood pressure. Choose whole-wheat breads, cereals and baked goods over products prepared with refined, white flour. Add whole-grain pasta, brown rice and other grains such as quinoa to your diet. Mayo Clinic also recommends adding ground flax seed to meals because it is high in fiber and contains omega-3 fatty acids, which help raise levels of high-density lipoprotein, the "good" cholesterol, and lower levels of "bad" cholesterol.

Low-fat Foods

Limiting your intake of saturated fats is a very important strategy for lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of heart disease. These fats are found in marbled red meats and some dairy products. Instead, consume only lean meats, skinless poultry and fish. Choose low-fat dairy products over full-fat varieties and avoid butter and solid shortening. Use healthy oils such as olive, canola or corn oil that are high in unsaturated fats. The American Heart Association says that saturated fat should be no more than 7 percent of daily caloric intake

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Food Sources High in Iron

 

 

Dietary iron comes from both plant and animal food sources, with heme, or animal-based, iron being the most accessible for body functions. The human body absorbs nonheme, or plant-based, iron less easily. The FDA-recommended average daily intake of 18mg, therefore, assumes that iron will come from both sources. People who don't eat meat or who have greater mineral needs for health reasons may need to increase that total. Those who eat foods with high heme iron content frequently may need to decrease it.

Mollusks, Crustaceans and Fish

Clams top the seafood list of heme iron food sources in 3 oz. servings, providing from 12mg to 24mg in mineral content, depending on whether cooks prepare them from raw, frozen or canned supplies. The USDA Nutrient Database compares this intense iron content to oysters, with 6mg, which still satisfies 33 percent of daily requirements. Fish such as haddock, halibut, salmon and sardines offer between 1mg and 3mg of iron.

Meat and Poultry

Beef and pork liver and poultry giblets represent the most iron-rich foods among animal meats, which are heme sources. Dieters can raise their iron levels quickly by eating chicken liver, which has 12mg in 3 oz.; turkey giblets, 11mg in 1 cup; or braunschweiger, a pork liver sausage, 6mg in two slices. Common beef cuts contain about 3mg of iron, the USDA reports. Overall, dark poultry meat has greater iron content than white, and lamb delivers more dietary iron than pork.

Grains

Another quick fix for low iron levels comes from grain food sources, which MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, ranks among the best. Wheat, barley and oats, already significant in nonheme iron, may be fortified, as in ready-to-eat cereal products. Cold cereals such as wheat bran flakes may contain as much as 18mg, or 100 percent of dietary iron needs for the whole day. Some cooked oatmeal and wheat varieties provide up to 13mg of iron. Additional whole grains with iron content include corn, brown rice and millet.

Legumes

For a wide variety of vegetarian dishes that provide dietary iron, consumers can choose among legumes. Cooked dry soybeans, beans, lentils and peas add significant nonheme iron to diets, with soybeans offering 9mg per 1 cup serving. MedlinePlus adds lima and kidney beans, which provide 4mg to 5mg of iron, to this nonheme list. Lentils, chickpeas, black-eye peas and other types of cooked dry beans have similar mineral content.

Vegetables

Dark green vegetables comprise the remaining group of nonheme iron foods. Mineral benefits vary greatly between raw and cooked greens, such as 1mg of iron in 1 cup of raw spinach versus 6mg in cooked spinach, according to the USDA. The same type of nutrient concentration occurs in similar food sources, such as collards, turnip greens and kale, but these tougher greens are usually eaten cooked.

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What Foods Give You Iron?

 
 

Iron is an essential nutrient for good health. People who do not get enough iron through their diet can develop anemia and other medical complications. Women in their childbearing years should take in 18mg of iron each day. Men only need 8mg daily. Many different kinds of foods contain iron, from meats to vegetables and grains.

Liver

Beef and chicken livers are among the most iron-rich food sources, according to the USDA. Classified as organ meats, a 3-oz. portion of liver has between 5 and 10mg of iron.

Meats

Beef, chicken, pork and turkey all contain iron, according to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's McKinley Health Center. Animal-based sources of iron are called heme iron. The human body absorbs heme iron more effectively than iron found in non-animal sources.

Seafood

Many types of seafood also contain iron, including tuna, shrimp, oysters, salmon, flounder, cod and clams. Canned clams are one of the most iron-rich foods, according to the USDA. Three ounces of clams contains almost 24mg of iron. Other seafood sources of iron are more modest, providing between 0.7 to 1.2mg per serving.

Nuts and Seeds

Choosing almonds, and pumpkin seeds for snacks, and cooking with mustard seed and sesame seeds may help ward of anemia. Pumpkin and sesame seeds each offer about 5mg of iron per 1/4 cup, according to WHFoods. A serving of almonds (about 12 nuts) contains almost 1mg of the nutrient.

Beans

Beans of virtually any color or kind---black, white, baked, kidney, pinto, soy or refried---are an inexpensive source of iron. Half-cup servings of beans range from 2.4 to 4.4mg of iron, according to the USDA and WHFoods.

Green Vegetables

Spinach, green peas, green beans, broccoli and other greens are all rich in iron. Spinach weighs in near the top of the list for vegetables, with 1/2 cup of the boiled greens providing between 2 and 4mg per serving.

Dried Fruit

Apricots, dates and raisins are two good fruit sources of iron, according to the McKinley Health Center. Snacking on 1/4 cup of raisins can provide 1mg of iron. A moderate sized serving of 10 medium dried apricots or dates offers just over 1.5mg of iron. The iron found in dried fruit is called non-heme, because it is not an animal source of iron.

Fortified Grains

Many brands of rice, pasta and breakfast cereals are fortified with iron to provide essential nutrients. Whole wheat breads also contain some iron. Brown rice and whole wheat pasta may be natural sources of iron, while white rice and pasta may contain iron if the package says "enriched." Cold, ready-to-eat cereals as well as instant oatmeal can be a good dietary source of iron, according to the USDA's "Dietary Guidelines for Americans."

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