Vegetarians and iron deficiency
Are vegetarians doomed to be anemic?
Are we destined to be frigid and dizzy?
Not if we do it right. But what’s right? And why do so many of us get it wrong?
Vegetarians need 1.8 times higher iron intake than non-vegetarians. That’s because plant foods are absorbed by our bodies at different rates than meats.
We sponge up heme iron from meat, sopping up 15-35% of it. We soak up a less non-heme iron from plant sources at a rate between 2-20%. This might not seem like a huge difference, but like compound interest, it adds up over time which ironically is depleting.
We have to be attentive to our iron intake by eating rich foods,
All 👏
The👏
Time👏
This way we keep our levels up in the face of the gauntlet of factors trying to keep them down.
Every day has to be Vegetarian Day.
Iron absorption
What’s even more sinister – the main villain in our lives that prevents us from absorbing this precious nutrient… is other food!
Ok let’s spill the tea. No, seriously spill the tea. Slap that Earl Grey right outta your veggie friend’s hand and scald the floor instead. Black tea blocks iron absorption because of its polyphenol and tannin content.
Some vegetables do because of their oxalates.
Calcium in high amounts (like in dairy) blocks it.
Certain grains block it because of their phytates.
Factors that affect iron absorption
But don’t worry, you’d have to be OTT with food iron blockers for them to be the sole reason you’d cause iron deficiency. You’d really have to be pounding back the tea to make a dent in our iron. There’s a famous case of the man who drank 1.5 litres of green tea daily for 20 years who became anemic because of it.
We normally have to have other factors at play to make these dietary factors cause iron deficiency. For example, people who bleed regularly with menses, have a tougher time with being vegetarian.
Not all is lost, my veggie friend. There are some positive food helpers to increase iron absorption.
Vitamin C in foods like citrus fruits, tomatoes, and bell peppers are a great way to help iron find its way into our bodies and even offset the losses from oxalates and calcium. Vitamin C is a key player in preventing anemia, which is why C is in many iron supplements. C is the moment.
The point here is vegetarians are iron deficient much more often than others. For many different reasons, and we know know ’em all.
We just have to stay vigilant with our diets and test our iron (as ferritin) before its deficiency tests our stamina.
Related Posts
Vegetarians and iron deficiency
