How much iron is your body absorbing?

This can lead to tiredness, a lack of energy, feeling short of breath and even heart palpitations.¹ So what’s the issue? Well, according to research, there are certain types of food that can impact the amount of iron that’s absorbed into your body.² But before you start the witch hunt to find the culprits, you may want to know what foods you’re looking for. 

Handpicked content: Iron sources: foods high in iron

But don’t fear, before you ditch the Wensleydale and crackers, it’s still important to consume foods rich in calcium. You may just want to try and limit these types of foods when you’re eating a meal containing most of your daily intake of iron. The same idea of segregation should be applied when taking iron and calcium supplements too. Tea and coffee are two other examples to look out for. They contain polyphenols, which has been shown to hinder iron absorption.⁸ To put this into context, drinking just one cup of black tea with a meal reduced iron absorption by 60-70%. Yet if it was consumed in between meals, this percentage drops to just 20%.⁹ So the good news is that it’s just a matter of timing these food and drinks, instead of discarding them altogether (phew).

Vitamin A is key as well. You can find this in carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, squad, kale, cantaloupe, peaches, oranges, apricots and red peppers. One study found that meals containing vitamin A increased iron absorption by up to 200% for rice, 80% for wheat and 140% for corn.¹⁰