Iron in the vegan diet.
Iron is an essential nutrient that carries oxygen in the blood through a pigment called haemoglobin. Obtained in two forms; ‘heme’ (animal derived) and ‘non-heme’ iron (plant-based); iron is of particular importance in an adolescent’s diet- particularly females. Despite that non-heme iron is absorbed less efficiently, the daily recommendation of consuming 11mg (males) or 15mg (females) daily can be met through including ‘iron enhancers’ and limiting ‘iron inhibitors’ in one’s diet.
As a vegan diet is typically abundant in vitamin C rich foods that enhance iron absorption, the Dietician’s Association of Australia states that “cases of iron deficiency are no more common in vegetarians than meat eaters” (2016). This is because the frequent addition of vitamin C rich citrus fruits, broccoli and bok choy, “increases non-heme iron absorption up to six-fold”, whilst iron inhibitors, such as caffeine and tannin, limit absorption. In addition to consuming foods that enhance iron absorption, nutritional requirements can be met through eating non-heme iron rich foods such as potatoes, cacao, dried apricots, figs, oats, quinoa and pumpkin seeds. As many plant-based sources provide greater quantities of iron than animal products on a calorie basis, Figure 8 displays that 100 calories of cooked spinach provides over 17x more iron than 100 calories of sirloin steak. |
“Cases of iron deficiency are no more common in vegetarians than meat eaters”. |