goat
Newbie
Posts: 3
|
Post by goat on Jan 22, 2008 15:41:04 GMT
hi
I've read stuff about coffee, tea and even nuts stopping 'heme' iron being absorbed into the body. apparently it's not caffeine, I believe it's something to do with the tannins
Anyone know much about this? should you avoid these things entirely? or could you, say, have a cuppa, leave it for a while then have your spinach, broccoli or whatever, safe in the knowledge all that lovely iron's going to find it's way into your body?
|
|
|
Post by veggiesosage on Jan 22, 2008 15:47:41 GMT
I thought it was only tea that reduced the absorbtion of iron due to the tannin (wasn't aware that nuts or coffee had tannin tbh). I think if you keep them separate you can avoid such problems. Also, eating something with vit C in it with the same meal as your iron rich food will increase absorbtion.
|
|
|
Post by fezzarooooo on Jan 22, 2008 16:10:59 GMT
I've heard it about tea & coffee, but not about nuts. I've heard it's the caffeine & yes vitC does help the absorption, tis why pure orange is traditionally taken with cereal at breakfast time. Apparently you shouldn't have caffeine for 20 minutes before or after your iron foods.
|
|
goat
Newbie
Posts: 3
|
Post by goat on Jan 22, 2008 19:18:37 GMT
cheers for that, yeah I've read that tea is actually worse than coffee for it, but coffee does definitely have a similar effect. Also apparently de-caff works against absorbtion too.
I was reading on the Vegan Society website and found this...
"Iron absorption can also be reduced by tannins (e.g. in tea) and phytates (found in nuts, grain and seeds)...."
it then goes on to say that...
"Studies of British vegans have reported an average intake of approximately double the recommended Reference Nutrient Intakes. At this level of iron consumption, any possible inhibitory effects of fibre and phytate on absorption are unlikely to be important. As vegan diets contain about three to four times the British and US recommendations for vitamin C, absorption of iron is enhanced."
in another thing i found (a medical report that was soooo wordy) it concluded with this...
"Non-haem iron found in cereals, vegetables, dried fruit, legumes and nuts is less well absorbed (than haem, from meat) and its absorption is influenced by a wide variety of dietary factors which include enhancers e.g Vitamin C (present in fruit and fruit juice), and inhibitors e.g. phytate (bran) and tea (polyphenols). Therefore for those who have a poor iron status or are at high risk of iron deficiency it would be prudent to recommend that tea is not drunk with meals or up to one hour after the meal Otherwise moderate tea drinking (3-4 cups) spread throughout other times of the day is unlikely to have any adverse effect on iron status, and in fact at this level can actually bring about other health benefits thereby helping to promote overall health and well being."
So there we have it!! If tea's your bag (sic), you've got to get your timing right!
|
|