“IRON”ing Out Our Needs

Our bodies need certain vitamins and minerals on a daily basis, in different quanti-ties, and even in different forms sometimes. Iron is no exception to this, and in or-der to understand how much we need, we need to understand “how” and “where” we can find sources of iron.

Iron comes in two forms: heme and non-heme iron. Heme iron is more easily ab-sorbed by our body and is acquired predominantly through food sources. Meat, poultry, fish and seafood contain heme iron with items such as sirloin and lean ground beef containing the most iron (absorbed by the body), followed by shrimp, lamb chops, turkey, pork tenderloin, canned tuna, chicken breast and halibut. Non-heme iron is not absorbed as easily by the body, however when pairing food items, foods with heme iron more readily available helps in the absorption process of foods with non-heme iron. Sources with non-heme include legumes (beans, lentils), eggs, dark green leafy vegetables, whole grains, enriched breads and pastas as well as fortified breakfast cereals.

Vitamin C also helps the body absorb non-heme iron. Good sources of Vitamin C include:

• Fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi

• Tomatoes, turnips, green, yellow and red peppers

• Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts

• 100% juices (orange, tomato and apple with added Vitamin C)

Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for iron differ between men and women amongst different age groups:

• Males and Females from 7-12 months = 11 mg/day

• Males and Females from 1-3 years = 7 mg/day

• Males and Females from 4-8 years = 10 mg/day

• Males and Females from 9-13 years = 8 mg/day

• Males 14-18 years = 11 mg/day; Females 14-18 years = 15 mg/day

• Males 19-50 years = 8 mg/day; Females 19-50 years = 18 mg/day

• Males and Females >51 years = 8 mg/day

• Females during pregnancy = 27 mg/day

Finally, to maximize the amount of iron in your body during meals, it is best to avoid drinking tea and coffee, as these contain polyphenols which lower the amount of non-heme iron your body is able to absorb.