Are you getting enough iron?
Why is having sufficient iron important? How do you know if you aren’t getting enough? How can you increase your iron intake?
Why is iron important?
Iron is used by your body to make hemoglobin and myoglobin. Hemoglobin helps your red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. Myoglobin carries oxygen to your muscles to enable them to work properly. Iron is also important for a healthy immune system, muscle strength and energy.
How much iron should you be getting?
The recommended iron intake for women is 18mg per day up until age 50. After age 50 it decreases to 8mg per day.
Our bodies can’t manufacture iron, so we need to get it from the foods we eat or a supplement.
How do you know if you’re not getting enough?
If you don’t consume enough iron or are unable to absorb iron properly, your body will deplete its iron stores, haemoglobin levels may fall and you can develop anaemia.
Symptoms of iron deficiency or anaemia include:
- general fatigue / feeling tired even after resting
- finding it hard to concentrate
- low moods
- pale skin
- shortness of breath
- feeling dizzy
- headaches
- poor concentration
- cold hands and feet
- frequent infections or wounds that take a long time to heal
- rapid or irregular heartbeat
- brittle nails
If you suspect you are iron deficient, it’s worth visiting your doctor for a blood test to check your levels.
Who is most at risk of iron deficiency?
Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutrition deficiency. It’s estimated that about 5% of Australian adults are iron deficient. Women are more at risk of developing iron deficiency because of the blood lost from menstruating, particularly if you have endometriosis. While this risk decreases after menopause, it increases again as you age. Women (and men) over 65 are at higher risk often because of poor diet.
Having coeliac disease, Irritable Bowel Sydnrome or other disease which impacts your ability to absorb nutrients can also increase your risk.
Other factors which increase the risk of having an iron deficiency include being vegetarian or vegan or being a frequent blood donor.
How to treat an iron deficiency
Increasing iron in your diet
The easiest way to treat an iron deficiency and ensure you are getting enough iron is by making sure your diet includes plenty of iron rich foods.
Animal products, particularly meat, are the best source of iron. As a general rule, the redder the meat the more iron it contains. So the best sources are beef and lamb, followed by pork, poultry and seafood.
Other sources of iron include dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach and rocket, dried fruits, nuts, kidney beans and iron fortified breakfast cereals.
This table shows how much iron is in different foods:
| Food | Amount | Iron (mg) |
| Beef, lean, grilled | 100g | 3.2mg |
| Lamb, lean, grilled | 100g | 2.4mg |
| Pork fillet, grilled | 100g | 1.0mg |
| White fish, grilled | 100g | 1.0mg |
| Salmon | 100g | 1.3mg |
| Chicken breast, no skin, grilled | 100g | 0.5mg |
| Tuna, canned in water, drained | 100g | 1.1mg |
| Baked beans | ½ cup | 1.8mg |
| Eggs | 2 large | 1.6mg |
| Weetbix | 2 biscuits | 2.5mg |
| Natural muesli | 30g | 2.3mg |
| Kidney beans | 1 cup | 3.1mg |
| Lentils | 1 cup | 3.0mg |
| Wholemeal bread | 1 slice | 0.6mg |
| Brown rice | ½ cup | 0.5mg |
| White rice | ½ cup | 0.3mg |
| Mixed nuts | 30g | 0.8mg |
| Spinach | 1 cup | 1.2mg |
| Peanut butter | 1 tablespoon | 0.5mg |
| Dried apricots | 30g | 1.0mg |
Keep in mind your body doesn’t absorb dietary iron as well from plant foods as from animal foods. Approximately 20-35% of the iron from animal based sources is absorbed, whereas approximately 2-5% is absorbed from plant sources.
This means that if you are vegetarian or vegan you will need to nearly double your iron intake to 32gm per day if you are under 50 and 16gm per day if you are over 50.
Cooking plant based sources of iron can increase the amount of iron available.
Add Vitamin C
Eating foods which are rich in Vitamin C at the same time as foods containing can increase the amount of iron which you absorb. Having a glass of unsweetened orange juice or a piece of citrus fruit with your cereal or eggs at breakfast will double the amount of iron you absorb. Add other Vitamin C rich foods like red capsicum / peppers, tomatoes and berries to your daily diet.
Things to avoid
Conversely tea and coffee can decrease your iron absorption, so avoid drinking them within an hour of having a meal that includes iron. Similarly, calcium and zinc supplements can also interfer with your ability to absorb iron, so avoid taking them at the same time as meals if possible.
Iron Supplements
If your iron levels are particularly low and diet changes are not helping, you may need to take an iron supplement. It’s important to only take iron supplements if you need to as they can cause digestive issues and stomach upsets. Too much iron can also be bad for your health. So only take them under a doctor’s supervision and get your iron levels tested regularly while taking them.
