Interactions among dietary manganese, heme iron, and nonheme iron in women

The relationship among dietary intake of heme iron, nonheme iron, and manganese on indexes of hematological and nutritional status in regard to manganese of 47 women consuming their typical diets was investigated. Increasing dietary iron intake, by consuming more nonheme iron in the diet, had questionable effects on hematological status (hematocrit values and ferritin and transferrin concentrations) and negative effects on nutritional status in regard to manganese (serum manganese, urine manganese, and lymphocyte manganese-dependent superoxide dismutase activity). In contrast, heme-iron intake was positively correlated with hematological status and had no consistent effect on nutritional status in regard to manganese. Differences in dietary manganese intake had no consistent effect on indices of manganese or iron status, possibly because foods that contain significant amounts of manganese (green vegetables, breads, and cereals) often contain significant amounts of nonheme iron. Thus, increasing dietary manganese intake by consuming these foods is apt to have limited impact on manganese status because of the interaction between nonheme iron and manganese.