The Role Of Iron
Iron is a mineral that’s widely available in food and you need only a small amount to keep healthy. Yet, iron deficiency is a common nutrition problem everywhere in the world. An iron deficiency often leads to anemia and its symptoms:
- fatigue
- weakness
- poor exercise tolerance
- loss of appetite
- decreased immunity
Although iron has many biological functions, its main job is to carry oxygen in the hemoglobin of red blood cells. Hemoglobin takes oxygen to your body cells where it’s used to produce energy. Iron also helps protect you from infections as part of an enzyme in your immune system. It helps change beta-carotene to vitamin A, helps produce collagen (which holds tissues of your body together), and helps make body proteins (amino acids), among its other tasks.
How Much Iron Do You Need?
Your body is highly adaptive, absorbing more iron when its iron stores are low, and less when they’re higher. Iron needs are highest during periods of rapid growth:
- childhood
- adolescence
- childbearing years for women
- pregnancy
Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for iron have been established based on Life Stage Groups:
| Males |
9-13 years
14-18 years
19-70+ years |
8 mg/day
11 mg/day
8mg/day |
| Females |
9-13 years
14-18 years
19-50 years
50-70+ |
8 mg/day
15 mg/day
18 mg/day
8 mg/day |
| Pregnancy |
any age |
27/ mg day |
How Much Iron Do You Get From Food?
The iron content of food varies greatly. Liver, muscle meats and fortified foods have the greatest amounts.The amount of iron your body absorbs depends on several factors:
- how much iron you consume and in what form (heme or non-heme)
- other nutrients or substances in the meal or snack that can enhance or hinder its absorption
- how much iron your body has stored already.
Heme iron (the iron from meat, poultry, and fish) is absorbed into your body more readily than non-heme iron. Depending on how much you already have stored, anywhere from 15 to 35 percent of heme iron gets absorbed. Non-heme iron is a different story. Only 2 to 20 percent of non-heme iron gets absorbed. You can enhance your body’s absorption of non-heme iron, however, by including foods rich in vitamin C (citrus fruit, bell peppers, strawberries, fresh broccoli) or foods with heme iron (such as meat and poultry).
On the flip side, other food substances—oxalic acid in spinach and chocolate; phytic acid in wheat bran and legumes; tannins in tea; and polyphenols in coffee—seem to inhibit non-heme iron absorption. Again, consuming vitamin C or iron from meat, fish, or poultry at the same time helps to overcome these “inhibitors.”
Employ the Following Strategies to Help Maximize Your Iron Absorption:
- Enjoy a vitamin C-rich food—such as an orange, cantaloupe, green pepper, or broccoli—along with it. For example, you get more iron from a peanut butter sandwich on whole-wheat bread if you eat it with a glass of orange juice. This is especially important for vegetarians who get most of their iron from plant sources.
- Add a little meat, poultry, or fish (with heme iron) to foods of plant origin and egg yolks. For example, include some ground beef in a pot of chili, or sliced lean ham in an egg omelette. The presence of heme iron boosts the absorption of non-heme iron.
- Unlock the iron in foods such as whole grains, spinach, legumes, and grain. Eat meat or vitamin C-rich foods along with these iron-containing foods.
- Drink coffee or tea between meals—not with meals.