What you need to know about iron if you are reducing your red meat intake

An all-encompassing conversation on the essential nutrient, iron. Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder in the world. Angela Saunders brings 37+ years experience and has a particular interest in the adequacy of vegetarian and vegan diets.

We cover: 

• Concerns and importance of iron 
• Groups of people considered most at risk of iron deficiency anaemia 
• The three levels of iron deficiency and when you should be concerned 
• Concerns when it comes to plant-based (vegetarian/vegan) diets and iron intake 
• Are vegetarians and vegans at a greater risk of developing iron deficiency anaemia than omnivores? 
• What is the difference between plant foods and animal foods when it comes to iron? Why is it that people commonly associate red meat as a better source of iron?
• Non-haem iron absorption is carefully controlled by our gut; we absorb more only when we need it. Is this a protective measure? 
• Nutrients that enhance iron absorption and nutrients that inhibit iron absorption - do these matter? 
• The US, Australian and NZ governments set higher iron requirements for vegetarians. Are these higher requirements necessary? 
• Summary on what the research tells us about vegetarians and iron deficiency

 

One-liners you don’t want to miss:

• “In Australia, the groups we are most concerned about tend to be those that limit their food intake. Particularly young women and men who follow a restricted diet, perhaps for weight loss/ weight management or food intolerance or other concerns they may have. They are cutting back on grains, meat etc. - these folk are going to be at risk of iron deficiency.” 
• “We have to acknowledge that there are some vegetarians and vegans, who without realising perhaps, are eating poorly planned, imbalanced plant-based diets, with an inadequate variety of food and they may not be thinking about where they are getting their iron from.”
• “If the diet is well-planned, vegetarians/vegans actually eat as much or more iron than omnivorous diets. That is quite an amazing finding.” 
• “With iron from plants we only absorb what we need and this means our storage levels of iron don’t get too high. This is actually very protective and may actually be one of the reasons why vegetarians have less risk of chronic disease because of the lower levels of iron, a pro-oxidant, in our bodies.”

References
 
Craig WJ, Mangels AR, Fresán U, Marsh K, Miles FL, Saunders AV, Haddad EH, Heskey CE, Johnston P, Larson-Meyer E, Orlich M. The Safe and Effective Use of Plant-Based Diets with Guidelines for Health Professionals. Nutrients. 2021 Nov 19;13(11):4144. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34836399/

Saunders AV, Craig WJ, Surinder K Bains, Posen JS. Iron and vegetarian diets. Med J Aust 2013; 199 (4): S11-S16. https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2013/199/4/iron-and-vegetarian-diets

Craig WJ, Saunders AV. (2018). Critical Nutrients in a Plant-based Diet. In Winston J Craig (Ed), Vegetarian Nutrition and Wellness (pp. 213-230). CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group.
 
Marsh, K., Saunders, A., & Zeuschner, C. (2018). The Health Impact of Eating Foods of Animal Origin: Evidence Regarding Animal Foods, Health, and Disease Risk. In D. Bogueva, D. Marinova, & T. Raphaely (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Social Marketing and Its Influence on Animal Origin Food Product Consumption (pp. 17-36). IGI Global.

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