Iron

What is iron?

Iron is a mineral, which is found in your blood and muscles. It’s essential for carrying oxygen around the body, the immune system and to make important enzymes in the body. Good sources of iron are red meat, fish, chicken, beans, lentils and cereals. Get plenty of vitamin C (found in fruit and veges) for easier absorption of non-meat (non-haem) sources of iron.

Sources of iron? 

• Lean  red meat, poultry, liver, fish, and seafood.
• Beans and lentils 
• Vegetables
• Breakfast cereals
• Iron fortified soy beverages

You can enhance iron absorption by consuming foods rich in vitamin C, such as oranges and other citrus fruits, kiwifruit, potatoes and broccoli. Avoid phytates (found in bran) and polyphenols (found in tea and coffee) during mealtimes, as they inhibit iron absorption.

See the Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Adults for further information on iron.

How much iron do we need?

• The RDI for iron for teenage boys, aged 14-18 years is 11mg per day, for girls aged 14-18 it is 15mg per day.
• The RDI for iron for men aged 19 years or older is 8 mg per day
• The RDI for iron for women aged 19-50 years is 18 mg per day, and for women aged 51 years or older is 8 mg per day.

Iron content of some common foods 

See Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand including Recommended Dietary Intakes for further information on required iron intakes.

 Questions and answers

 Is there any truth in the myth that a diet rich in iron is healthy for higher brain function/activity?

Iron deficiency in infants and children can result in poorer cognitive function. Iron content of the brain accumulates throughout early life and reaches its peak around 20-30 years of age. Iron intake is important early in life, as early deficit in brain iron cannot be compensated for in later in life.

Question two: I have heard that caffeine (well I think that was the ingredient in coke they were talking about) blocks absorption of iron from your meals. I've also heard eating citrus with aids your absorption of iron. Are both of those statements true? (a) Is it caffeine in any form that blocks iron absorption rather than just in the form of coke? (b) Can one have citrus and still enjoy caffeine with a meal and they'll cancel each other out and take you back to normal absorption of iron?

(a) It’s actually the polyphenols that block iron absorption. Polyphenols are a group of compounds found in coffee and tea. One type of polyphenol is called caffeic acid and is found in coffee, it is not the same as caffeine (which is also found in coffee).

(b) I think you might be talking about vitamin C, rather than citrus. Vitamin C found in found in citrus fruits, broccoli, potatoes, and kiwifruit, and helps absorb iron. And you may be confusing caffeine with caffeic acid, which inhibits iron absorption. Anyway, I’m not sure if consuming both vitamin C and caffeic acid at the same time will cancel each other out, but to be safe, I would have the vitamin C with the meal to help absorb any non-haem iron (iron found in non-meat sources), and then have your coffee or tea an hour or so later.