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Absorption of iron from breakfast meals
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|December 1, 1979
Summary
Breakfast composition significantly impacts nonheme iron absorption, with beverages like tea and orange juice altering bioavailability. Dietary advice must consider meal content, not just iron intake, for critical iron balance groups.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Human Physiology
Background:
- Nonheme iron is crucial for human health, but its absorption is highly variable.
- Western-style breakfasts are common dietary staples, yet their impact on iron bioavailability is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the absorption of nonheme iron from various common Western breakfast meals.
- To assess the influence of different breakfast components, including beverages, on iron bioavailability.
Main Methods:
- Employed extrinsic radioiron labeling in 129 subjects to trace nonheme iron absorption.
- Standardized absorption against ferrous ascorbate and compared different breakfast meals served on alternate days using distinct radioiron isotopes.
Main Results:
- Significant variation in iron bioavailability was observed across different breakfast meals (0.07 to 0.40 mg absorption).
- Tea reduced iron absorption by more than half, while orange juice increased it 2.5-fold.
- A 6-fold difference in absorption occurred despite minor variations in meal iron content (2.8 to 4.2 mg).
Conclusions:
- The bioavailability of iron in Western breakfasts varies considerably, influenced by meal composition and accompanying beverages.
- Dietary recommendations for individuals with critical iron balance must account for the bioavailability of iron within frequently consumed meals.
- Assessing iron nutrition requires evaluating both dietary iron intake and its bioavailability in habitual meals.