Increased by:

• Body needs during growth, pregnancy, and lactation
• Hydrochloric acid
• Vitamin C
• Blood loss or iron deficiency
• Meats (heme iron)
• Protein foods
• Citrus fruits and vegetables
• Iron cookware
• Copper, cobalt, manganese

Decreased by:

• Low hydrochloride acid
• Antacids
• Low copper
• Phosphates in meats and soft drinks
• Calcium
• Phytates in whole grains
• Oxylates in leafy green vegetables
• Soy protein
• Coffee and black tea
• Fast gastrointestinal motility

Any unabsorbed iron is eliminated in the feces. Otherwise, only minute amounts are lost in the urine, sweat, nail clippings, and hair. Other than through blood loss, most body iron is retained fairly well. Normal iron loss in the average person is about 1 mg. per day.

When we have plenty of iron, we can say we're "in the pink." Usually we will have good circulation, with rosy cheeks, pink earlobes, and pink tongue. (Yet we can also be "too pink" or red, with excess iron and blood cells.) If the tongue or the mucosal lining of the mouth is pale, we should look for anemia, so it is good for us to know what we can about iron, especially where we can find it in our foods.

Sources: Some of our soil is iron deficient, so the plants grown or the animals grazed there may contain relatively smaller amounts, though this is not yet a major concern. The milling of grain removes about 75 percent of the iron present in whole grains, as much of the iron is found in the outer bran and germ. The fortified or enriched grain foods, such as cereals and breads, contain some iron (plus vitamins B1, B2, and B3), but this iron is in the poorly absorbed ferric state. Cooking in iron pots or skillets will add absorbable iron to food, but if this is done excessively over time, iron toxicity is a possibility.

Heme iron, as found in meats, is generally thought to be the iron that is best absorbed, several times more absorbable than the nonheme iron found in the vegetable kingdom. This does not mean that we need to eat meats in order to get sufficient iron, though that is often recommended in cases of iron deficiency. The 18 mg. of iron a day needed by a woman in the childbearing years is not always easy to obtain through diet. Though eating 22 slices of whole wheat bread or 13 cups of cooked kale would supply 18 mg., these are obviously not desirable ways to get it. In addition to beef, liver, and other organ meats that have relatively high amounts of absorbable iron, pork, lamb, chicken, and shellfish such as clams and oysters contain reasonable iron levels. Egg yolks are fairly good sources, and salmon is the best of the other seafood.

From the vegetable world, whole grains are the overall best source. Wheat, millet, oats, and brown rice are all iron-containing grains. The legumes-dried peas and beans-are good; lima beans, soybeans, kidney beans, and green peas are examples. Nuts, such as almonds and Brazil nuts, and most seeds contain iron. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, and dandelion are good sources, as are broccoli and asparagus. Dried fruits such as prunes, raisins, and apricots have a good amount of iron. Prune juice often gives us additional iron. Unsulfured molasses is concentrated in iron; one tablespoon contains about 3 mg. Tomatoes, strawberries, and many other fruits and vegetables contain some iron, so it is possible to obtain adequate amounts of iron from dietary sources without consuming a lot of meat by eating wholesome foods, especially whole grains, green vegetables, and the legumes, nuts, and seeds.