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):

Consuming milk, tea, coffee, and red wine can interfere with your iron absorption. If you make a habit of drinking any of the above, you’ll want to keep reading.

Although white wine does not, red wine does inhibit iron absorption.

Black tea inhibits iron absorption in plant-based foods. The more you drink with your meal, the less iron your body will absorb from that meal.

Coffee can also inhibit iron absorption in plant-based foods - and the stronger it is, the more it will inhibit absorption. When milk is added to coffee, even less iron is absorbed. You can drink your coffee an hour before your meal with little affect, but drinking coffee an hour after a meal is similar to drinking it with your meal.

Since milk is high in calcium, it is no surprise to find it inhibits iron absorption, too. Milk can inhibit iron absorption from both plant-based and meat-based foods.

If you are severely iron deficient, and you still want to drink your milk, tea, wine, or coffee, there are some things you can do. If you need coffee or tea in the morning, make this your calcium meal and don’t include iron (save that for lunch or dinner!); have your red wine a couple of hours after dinner; drink your milk separately from your iron-rich meal, or drink a couple of hours after your meal, or even before bed.

Desserts? Pair a fruit dessert with your iron-rich meal, not a calcium-rich one. Making sure the fruit is high in Vitamin C will actually enhance iron absorption from your meal.

The iron in your cast iron skillet will leach into your food in small amounts and will increase the iron content in your foods. [Lea loves making spaghetti sauce in cast iron for this reason]. Cast iron can have a non-stick finish when well seasoned. Look for them in yard sales, or purchase them right on amazon [Lea prefers USA-made Lodge cast iron].

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!

Next week we continue the discussion on iron absorption, this time focusing on meal ideas…

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 7: Fruit, Dairy, Sweeteners, Herbs and Spices
Science Facts Sundays: Maximizing Iron Absorbency, Part 6: Vegetables

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Lea Harris founded Nourishing Treasures in 2006. A mom passionate about her family's health and well-being, Lea believes education is power. Encouraging others to take baby steps in the right direction of health for their families, Lea's goal is to raise awareness of what goes into our mouths and on our bodies, providing natural alternative information that promotes health and prevents disease by using traditional foods and nature's medicine. Lea is a Certified Health Coach graduate from Beyond Organic University, and a Certified Aromatherapist graduate from Aromahead Institute. "Like" Nourishing Treasures on Facebook, join the Nourishing Treasures Group on Facebook, follow @NourishTreasure on Twitter, and subscribe to our newsletter. You can also find me on Learning About Essential Oils forum, and Fido Fermentation Facebook group. Disclaimer: I use affiliate links wherever possible. So if you click on a link, and make a purchase, I might make a small commission, but it doesn't cost you any more.