Iron and vitamin C content of commonly consumed foods in Vietnam

The iron and vitamin C content of water spinach and rice samples from three sites in Vietnam were chemically analysed. The iron content of home-milled rice from Nghe An was higher than the iron content of machine-milled rice from Thai Binh and Hanoi. In addition, the iron content of cooked rice was lower than that of uncooked rice as iron was removed during the washing and rinsing of the rice prior to cooking. Cooked rice that was washed and rinsed less thoroughly had a higher iron content. The iron content of water spinach from different locations was very similar, although white water spinach had a much higher vitamin C content than red water spinach.