It used to be the question I was asked the most – ‘but where do you get your iron if you don’t eat meat?’ Nowadays many people are a bit wiser, after realising that many carnivores struggle to keep their iron levels in a good place.
The average vegetarian diet is able to supply twice the minimum daily requirements of iron—it also supplies the body with three times the daily requirement of vitamin C, needed for the iron to absorb.
Rarely was absorption discussed as a possible issue. How far we have come in the understanding of the gut, and different foods and medications that can interfere with iron absorption.
Studies of the iron content in food show that vegetables, fruit and nuts are much higher in usable iron than beef. So you see, you needn’t be a meat eater to get your iron.
Stick around all this week for the lowdown on iron.
