meh. i just try to eat lots of veggies, don't smoke/drink much caffiene,
don't take iron supplements, and all my blood tests always show that my iron
levels are great. and hell, being a woman, i'm supposed to have to be extra
careful. but i don't worry about it. some folks could eat the same and not
absorb it well i guess, but that's why it's important for everyone to have
blood tests every once in a while.

"usual suspect" > wrote in message
...
> herbwormwood wrote:
> <...>
> > I believe that recent understanding has made it easier for informed
vegans
> > not to be iron deficient. We now know that to get iron from veggies we
> > have to eat vitamin c with it.
>
> That alone doesn't always help. Non-heme iron, which is found in plant
foods,
> binds with phytates, which are also abundant in plant foods, and prevent
> absorption. I linked one study in either AFV or AAEV a few months ago that
> showed consumption of a heme iron (meat; they used pork in the study)
source
> increased non-heme iron absorption MORE than non-heme plus vitamin C.
>
> BTW, phytates also bind plant-based zinc. Zinc deficiency is also quite
common
> in vegans.
>
> > We also now know that caffiene and
> > nicotiene inhibit absorbtion of it.
>
> So do phytates, even more so than caffeine or nicotine.
>
> > Have a read of a good, recently published vegan nutrition book and watch
> > what you eat, and you should be okay. Avoid junk food, it is very low in
> > nutrition. There are lots of iron rich veggie foods, they will be
listed
> > in the books or on the internet.
>
> Non-heme rich, not heme. The differences are pretty important,
particularly
> since phytates -- also in those "iron-rich veggie foods" -- bind the iron
and
> hinder absorption.
>
> <...>
>