What are the best iron foods sources? Do we need steaks to get iron? Do we need iron supplements?
Iron is one of the most misunderstood nutrients. Today we cover everything we need to know about iron.
Which has the most iron: beef, lentils, milk or chia seeds?
3 oz steak = 14% of daily needs for the average woman. Men need less iron. lentils? 15.5%. Milk? no iron in milk. How bout chia? 77%. Chia’s got iron for days.
2 tbsps of chia = almost 20% of iron needs.
does that mean everybody needs chia? No. iron is everywhere.
Iron is everywhere. We can get iron from animals or plants. So many worried about getting iron, iron deficiency, iron foods, iron supplements, and yet its abundant.
it’s ‘iron-ic’. over a day do I get all the iron I need? that example maxs out iron needs for women.
So finding iron in foods is not a problem. you dnt need meat for iron or steak to not be anemic. Plant foods have iron.
plants have iron, but iron isn’t all equal. Is the iron in meat absorbed better? 2 types of iron, heme and non-heme. plants like lentils and sesame seeds only have nonheme iron
is heme iron better absorbed? iron absorption depends on e.g. vitC
If there’s no vitC, we can absorb more iron from a meal containing meat. But if vitC is present, the difference goes away.
does that mean if I don’t eat meat I have to eat oranges to get my iron? broccoli or bellpepper would give you enough vitC to get this effect
coffee and tea also influence absorption of nonheme iron. they block absorption. So if u have trouble getting iron, have ur coffee and tea in between, not during meals.
if heme and nonheme iron are absorbed differently, just mix it up and have both? some steak and some lentils? absorption is not their only difference. the health effects of heme and nonheme are also massively different.
Heme iron has been tied to Higher risk of CVD. Cancer. Diabetes. specific to heme iron, the type found in meat.
Each mg of heme iron has been associated to 7-27% higher risk of CVD. we need multiple mgs of iron per day so these studies suggest we lean on nonheme iron to meet our requirements.
meat-free diets can contain more iron and ppl who don’t eat meat dnt have higher risk of iron anemia so all that iron in the plants is absorbed.
if u have trouble getting iron, if u suffer from iron deficiency anemia, a supplement may be justified.
differences in iron absorption btw diff people. So if u have trouble getting iron, veggies esp. vitC rich like broccoli and bellpeppers or lemon on ur legumes, avoid coffee and tea with ur meals, also iron-fortified cereal. these can increase iron absorption up to 10 times!
getting most of our iron from plant foods = getting the healthiest kind, nonheme.
I didn’t say ironic, didn’t say the issue of iron is a magnet for controversy.
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References:
Meat-free diets can contain more iron:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002822311002756
vegetarians are not at higher risk of iron deficiency anemia than other groups:
https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2013/199/4/iron-and-vegetarian-diets?inline=true
Iron absorption and Vit C:
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/30/2/235/4650136
when looking at whole diets as opposed to isolated meals effect of VitC less marked:
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/73/1/93/4729737
drinks affect iron absorption:
https://europepmc.org/abstract/med/6896705
ea 1mg/d of heme iron associated with 7-27% higher risk of CHD:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939475314002889
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00394-013-0535-5
heme iron and stroke:
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/STROKEAHA.112.679662
heme iron and cancer:
http://cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org/content/canprevres/4/2/177.full.pdf
heme iron and diabetes:
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