Welcome to Science Facts Sundays.

These are some notes I took when reading Iron Rich Foods: Unlock the Iron in Your Food and Fight Iron Deficiency by Amanda Rose, PH.D.

My daughter knows why we don’t drink milk with an iron-rich meal. She can tell you, “calcium inhibits iron absorption!”

I don’t see the point of eating foods and not being able to absorb them and utilize all their benefits. What a shame to waste the iron in our foods when we eat them with dairy products. Simply knowing to separate the foods for ultimate utilization can be helpful for combating low iron levels.

You may find this geeky - so be forewarned! If this topic doesn’t appeal to you, check back in a few weeks and I’ll have moved on to something else that you may be interested in.

Here are some morsels for you to chew on (written in my own words):

Iron deficiency affects as much as 1 out of every 10 people.

Deficiency in iron can lead to poor learning abilities and slower physical growth in children, and fatigue and depression in adults, particularly women.

Although supplemental iron can be a quick-fix for low iron levels, it’s always best to get your minerals from food.

Improving food choices and replacing lower iron foods with higher ones can be done in two ways: you may choose to include meat to some of your meals, or you may choose to better prepare whole grains and legumes. Either one will work.

Many factors affect iron absorption - and phytic acid is one of the major ones. An anti-nutrient, phytic acid will bind with iron (as well as calcium and other minerals) and it will be eliminated from your body without being utilized.

Phytic acid is found in grains, nuts and seeds, as well as legumes. Proper preparation of these foods will ensure your body can absorb the iron (and other minerals) that you need.

Researchers referenced in this book found that when phytic acid was removed from wheat, the iron content increased 1160%. Oats with the phytic acid removed saw an increase of 836%.

Just think: without the phytic acid removed, the iron consumed would have gone right through these people, totally wasted (pun intended).

Apart from removing phytic acid, there is another thing you can do to boost iron absorption: combine iron-containing foods with Vitamin C.

That’s it for today! I hope you learned something. If you did, feel free to leave me a note in the comments If you didn’t learn anything, then you are definitely a geek!

Amanda Rose, Ph.D. authored Iron Rich Foods: Unlock the Iron in Your Food and Fight Iron Deficiency, where I have based these science facts. She is also the author of Rebuild From Depression: A Nutrient Guide, Including Depression in Pregnancy and Postpartum, and the Phytic Acid White Paper: Reducing Phytic Acid in Your Food. She is also the blogger behind Traditional-Foods.com.

• Intro
• Part 1
• Part 2: Meat (and some grains)
• Part 3: Soaking Cereal Grains
• Part 4: Baked Bread
• Part 5: Beans, Nuts and Seeds
• Part 6: Vegetables
• Part 7: Fruit, Dairy, Sweeteners, Herbs and Spices
• Part 8: Beverages & Cooking in Cast Iron
• Part 9 (Final): Meal Ideas

Similar Posts:

Science Facts Sundays: Maximizing Iron Absorbency, Part 2: Meat (and some grains)
Science Facts Sundays: Maximizing Iron Absorbency, Part 4: Baked Bread
Science Facts Sundays: Maximizing Iron Absorbency, Part 5: Beans, Nuts and Seeds

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