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About Iron Deficiency

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Getting More Iron

 

If you think your diet falls short, how can you get more iron?

 

Luckily, iron is found in a number of different foods and in cast iron pots. But, not all of this iron is well absorbed. Though spinach worked for Popeye, it won’t work very well for you. Several factors affect the amount of iron absorbed by an individual.

 

Absorption

The biggest factor influencing iron absorption is your storage levels of iron. If iron stores are high, absorption levels drop. However, if storage is low, absorption increases in an effort to build optimal storage levels. The other big factor affecting iron absorption is the type of iron you consume.

 

Heme & Non-Heme Iron


ClamsThe two types of iron are heme and non-heme iron. Heme iron, derived from hemoglobin, is found in foods that contained hemoglobin - animal foods including red meats, fish and poultry.

 

A serving of chicken livers, clams, or roasted beef tenderloin contains all the iron you need for a day. Heme iron is absorbed better than non-heme iron and absorption isn’t affected by anything else you eat. We absorb approximately 15 - 35% of the heme iron we eat.

Non-heme iron is the form of iron found in all other, non-meat based foods including vegetables, grains and iron-fortified breakfast cereal.

 

Non-heme iron is not absorbed as well as heme iron. Only 2 - 20% of non-heme iron is absorbed. And, while heme iron is not affected by other food eaten concurrently, there are many factors that affect the absorption of non-heme iron. For instance, the non-heme iron in Popeye’s spinach is bound to a substance called phytic acid, the storage form of phosphorus in plants. Phytic acid decreases the absorption of non-heme iron.

 

In addition, several other substances decrease the absorption of non-heme iron including:

tannins (found in tea and wine)
calcium (dairy, multivitamins)
polyphenols
phytates (legumes, whole grains)
some proteins in soy food

You can increase the amount of non-heme iron you absorb by consuming vitamin C rich foods or beverages at the same time or consuming a non-heme source at the same time you eat your heme iron (from meat, turkey, chicken and fish).

 

 



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