
How to increase your Iron absorption?
In the last tip we had discussed about
a few of the vegetarian sources which are having
very good amount of iron in them. Click here
to view the tip if you have missed it. However,
even after taking enough iron, your
haemoglobin may not increase. Reason?
There are some foods which increase and
there are some foods that decrease the
iron absorption in your body. So,
you should be aware of these foods.
Food That Prevent Iron Absorption Are:
Coffee:
Coffee contains caffeine and other
polyphenol like chlorogenic acid which
prevent absorption of iron in your body. If
you are fond of coffee, I know that
it is hard for you to break the
habit of taking coffee. But, the thing you
have to do is that limit your coffee intake. You
can have 2 cup of coffee per day, that too, you
can use only 5gm of coffee powder per cup. And now,
as you know that which are the good sources of iron
from our last tip, avoid taking
these sources of iron along with coffee.
Tea:
Tea contains tannins and this tannin
prevents iron absorption in your body. These
compounds present in coffee and tea bind with
iron during digestion, making it
more difficult to absorb.
Red Wine:
Red wines, however have tannins, which
can prevent iron absorption. But,
normal intake of red wine in limited quantity and
taking it in between main meal will
hardly prevent iron absorption.
Dark Chocolate: (made out of cacao beans)
Cacao beans contains phenolic compounds, which
prevent iron absorption in your body. According to
the iron disorder institutes, cacao beans can
inhibit 90% of iron absorption in your body.
Calcium:
Found in dairy products like
- Milk &
- Cheese
Calcium from dairy products interferes significantly
with iron absorption. Studies have showed that
about 30-50 % more iron was absorbed when
no milk or cheese was served with the main meal, which
provides most of the dietary iron. First 40mg of calcium
in the meal showed no inhibiting effects, whereas
300-600mg of calcium prevents iron absorption by
60 %. Which is very significant. So, try to avoid
having cheese n milk with your main meal.
Foods That Help In Iron Absorption Are:
Vitamin-C:
Present in
- Guawa
- Grapes
- Strawberry
- Sprouted
Vitamin -C is the main nutrient which increases
absorption of iron in your body, even in the
presence of inhibitors like tannates and calcium. Taking
3-4 serving of vitamin-C rich food per day will
increase your iron absorption. Whole pulses
don’t have vitamin-C when raw or cooked. However, when
you sprout whole pulse, it develops
vitamin-C in it and this becomes good source of it. But,
these sprouts should be taken in raw form. Don’t
cook them as heating sprouts will destroy vitamin-C in it.
Carotenoids and other organic acids:
Found in
- Tomato
- Pineapples
- Dark leafy vegetables.
Intake of carotenoids, lycopene, lutein, & zeaxanthin improve
iron absorption from meal and even
reverse the inhibitory effects of coffee.
That’s all about iron absorption enhancers (increase iron absorption) and
inhibitors (reduce iron absorption).
Also remember- pregnant women & growing children need
increased amount of iron. Make sure they take
enough iron and food that help in iron absorption.
That’s all for today,
See you next Tuesday,
With another Tuesday tip,
Till then,
Take care.
Providing simple solutions for the complexities of life-
Dr. Bhumita Makwana.
Your Dietitian & Cosmetic Clinician