16 Dec 2006
Here’s how to maximize absorption of iron from food:
- Unless you are vegetarian, include red meat in your diet several times a week. Lake trout, clams and oysters are also rich in iron
- Combine small bits of meat, poultry and fish with iron rich enriched pasta and rice. Meat, poultry and fish contain a substance dubbed the "meat factor", which improves the absorption of iron from other foods in the same meal.
- Enriched pasta can be a significant source of iron
- Include a source of vitamin C at each meal
- Avoid drinking coffee and tea within 2 hours of a meal. Coffee reduces iron absorption by 35 to 39%, wheras tea cuts i t by some 60%.
- Don’t eat natural wheat bran if you suffer from chronically low iron because it significantly reduces iron absorption
Anne Lindsay
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