Iron is an essential mineral that your body needs to form hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Iron deficiency anemia occurs when you don’t have enough iron in your diet, or you lose iron through blood loss. That blood loss could be microscopic, for example, small amounts of blood loss from a bleeding colon polyp.
Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While iron deficiency isn’t as common as it once was due to increased awareness of iron-rich foods, it still affects millions of Americans each year, especially young women. Symptoms of iron deficiency anemia include pale complexion, fatigue, and shortness of breath.
To help prevent iron deficiency in women, the Institute of Medicine recommends women consume 18 milligrams (mg) of dietary iron daily during their childbearing years — between 14 and 50 — and while breastfeeding. This is because women lose blood during menstruation and childbirth. The recommended daily intake for men and women after menopause is 8 milligrams per day. Consuming large quantities of iron if you don’t need it could have health consequences too. In higher amounts, iron can be a pro-oxidant, meaning it can damage tissues. Plus, your body can’t eliminate excess iron.
So, not everyone needs a diet rich in iron, but if you are iron deficient, you need to know how to keep your levels in a healthy range. The composition of your diet can affect how much iron you absorb and your risk of developing iron deficiency anemia. Let’s look at how to maximize iron absorption from the foods you eat if you need extra iron.
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Choose Heme Sources of Iron
Heme iron is the form of iron in meat and animal products like beef, poultry, or pork. Other good sources include oysters, clams, liver, red meat, and organ meats. The other form of iron is non-heme iron, the type in plant-based foods. Your body absorbs heme iron more easily than non-heme iron, the type in plant-based foods like leafy greens and lentils. That’s one reason iron deficiency is more common in vegetarians and vegans. Although you can achieve and maintain a healthy iron level with a vegetarian diet, you may have to consume more non-heme iron foods to achieve the level you would with a diet rich in heme iron sources.
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Eat Fruit with Your Iron-Rich Foods
Fruit is an excellent source of vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant vitamin. This vitamin that’s important for a healthy immune system and collagen also boosts your body’s ability to absorb iron from non-heme iron sources, like leafy greens, whole grains, beans, and lentils.
One way to take advantage of this is to add a squirt of lemon to your next serving of greens or include fruit with your meal. Most fruits are an excellent source of vitamin C, and you’ll get the extra vitamins and minerals in the fruit too. You could also add a fruit high in vitamin C to each meal to enhance iron absorption.
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Don’t Drink Tea or Coffee with an Iron-Rich Meal
Coffee and tea are among the most popular beverages in the world. Studies show they have potential health benefits and may even lower the risk of some chronic health problems due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
But there’s a downside to drinking coffee or tea: The tannins in these beverages can reduce non-heme iron absorption from food. The tannins in coffee and tea are chemicals that give them their bitter taste. They have antioxidant activity, but they also bind to minerals such as iron, lowering their availability to your body. When you eat food or drink beverages rich in tannins, you absorb less iron into your bloodstream than when you consume low-tannin foods and beverages.
Therefore, if you have a low iron level, avoid drinking coffee or tea when you eat a meal high in non-heme iron (plant-based sources of iron). Also, avoid sipping coffee or tea for two hours before or after a meal. Coffee and tea aren’t the only foods that contain tannins — wine, cocoa, pomegranates, and red grape juice also contain tannins — but coffee and tea are among the most common sources of tannins in the American diet because of their popularity as beverages.
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Cook Food in an Iron Skillet
Cooking with cast iron cookware can also boost your iron level. The amount of iron you absorb from cooking in cast iron varies with the type of food and how long it stays in the pan. The type of food you cook in cast iron matters too. Moist, acidic foods, like marinara sauce, absorb the most iron from a cast iron pan. Plus, you can boost the iron in the food even more by stirring it frequently and cooking it longer.
- Don’t Consume Calcium-Rich Foods with Iron-Rich Foods or An Iron Supplement
Calcium reduces iron absorption, at least short term. However, the long-term effects of consuming calcium with iron are debatable. One study found that consuming calcium with iron didn’t affect iron status longer term. Still, if you’re trying to boost your iron level, avoid taking an iron supplement or eating iron-rich food with calcium-rich dairy sources like milk.
Make Sure You Need the Extra Iron
Before eating large quantities of iron or taking an iron supplement, make sure you need it. The best way to find out is to ask your physician to check an iron panel. Based on the results, they can tell you whether you need additional iron or an iron supplement. Women under the age of menopause are at higher risk of iron deficiency while it’s less common for men and women after menopause to be deficient in this mineral. Too much iron can be toxic and cause damage to organs like the liver, heart, and kidneys due to its pro-oxidant effects.
References:
- “Iron deficiency anemia – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic.” 04 Jan. 2022, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/iron-deficiency-anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355034.
- Lynch SR, Cook JD. Interaction of vitamin C and iron. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1980;355:32-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1980.tb21325.x. PMID: 6940487.
- “Can Cast Iron Fight Iron Deficiency? -University Health News.” 13 Jan. 2021, https://universityhealthnews.com/daily/energy-fatigue/use-cast-iron-cookware-as-an-iron-deficiency-treatment/.
- Kulkarni SA, Ekbote VH, Sonawane A, Jeyakumar A, Chiplonkar SA, Khadilkar AV. Beneficial effect of iron pot cooking on iron status. Indian J Pediatr. 2013 Dec;80(12):985-9. doi: 10.1007/s12098-013-1066-z. Epub 2013 Jul 19. PMID: 23868537.
- Lönnerdal B. Calcium and iron absorption–mechanisms and public health relevance. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2010 Oct;80(4-5):293-9. doi: 10.1024/0300-9831/a000036. PMID: 21462112.
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