Are you getting enough?

By Pieta Cedaro APD (Consult Dietician)

The most common dietary deficiency I see in both my general practice and when dealing with athletes is low iron stores. Most at risk are female athletes (particularly those trying to lose weight), endurance athletes, sufferers of coeliac disease and also vegetarians.

Iron is crucial for maintaining haemoglobin levels (the compound responsible for carrying oxygen around the body) and deficiencies can result in a myriad of symptoms such as tiredness, irritability, poor concentration, breathlessness, early fatigue and poor performance. The richest sources in the diet are known as haem iron sources(these are flesh based foods) such as lean red meat, in particular kangaroo, lean pork fillet, and to a lesser extent chicken and fish.

To most people's surprise the very richest sources are oysters and mussels with a dozen containing up to 5 times the iron of a small steak. Green leafy vegetables, legumes such as lentils and baked beans, eggs, dried apricots, iron enriched breakfast cereals and muesli bars and now iron enriched juices also contain iron however we do not absorb this iron as well.

Including vitamin C rich foods with these less absorbable sources of iron will help enhance the total amount of iron that enters the bloodstream. So for example have an orange or kiwifruit with your iron fortified cereal such as weet-bix in the morning or add some tomatoes or capsicum to your lentil and spinach curry or to your omellete. Including lean red meat or other well absorbed sources of iron with more poorly absorbed sources also assists iron uptake from the gut.

Below are my top five tips to increase your iron intake:

  • Include 3-4 haem iron meals weekly such as lean red meat, in particular kangaroo, lean pork fillet, and to a lesser extent darker chicken and fish or even better still oysters and mussels.
  • Include plenty of leafy greens e.g. spinach and Asian greens, iron-enriched breakfast cereals e.g. and legumes such as baked beans and lentils and in smaller amounts eggs.
  • Consume vitamin C rich foods(kiwifruit, tomatoes, capsicum, oranges) with less absorbable plant based sources of iron (green leafy vegetables, legumes, iron-enriched breakfast cereals, dried apricots) or eggs and this will help enhance the amount of iron absorbed
  • Avoid drinking tea, red wine, cola drinks, chocolate, in particular dark, and coffee containing beverages within an hour and a half of iron-rich foods and supplements as caffeine and tannic acid both reduce the absorption of iron from food.
  • Separate calcium-rich foods such as yoghurt, cheese, milk, canned salmon or sardines or soy alternatives and supplements from iron-rich foods as the calcium hinders the amount of iron absorbed.

Also do not self medicate with iron supplements. These should only be taken under the guidance of an accredited practicing dietitian or medical doctor after a diagnosis of low iron stores (serum ferritin) has been determined from a blood test. Prolonged use of high dose supplements can lead to constipation, malabsorption of other essential minerals and increased risk for bowel cancer.