Common Iron Myths and Misconceptions
- “Red meat is high in fat”. Excessive dietary fat is considered one of several risk factors for coronary heart disease – saturated fat tends to raise blood cholesterol and higher levels of blood cholesterol are associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease.
About half the fat in lean red meat is unsaturated fat (i.e. monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) and meat provides one of the major sources of monounsaturated fat in the British diet.
Red meat and meat products contribute less than one quarter of the total fat intake of all food eaten at home. The fat content of lean red meat has fallen by one third on average over the last 20 years.
- “Spinach makes you strong”. Popeye got it wrong! It’s true that spinach does contain iron but the oxalic acid also present in spinach binds with iron and impairs its absorption so it’s not the best source of iron. Only physical exercise supported by good eating habits builds muscle strength
- “You shouldn’t cook in iron pots”. Years ago, before the days of stainless steel cookware our diets were unknowingly supplemented with iron from iron cooking pots and this contributed to iron intake. If you have cast iron cookware then the food you cook in it will absorb some of the iron from the pot. Foods with acids, such as tomato juice, citrus juice and vinegar help dissolve small amounts of iron from the pot into the cooking liquids. This is especially good for foods that simmer and stew for a while e.g. Balti curries
- “Vegetarians and vegans are usually iron deficient”. With no meat in their diet, vegetarians and vegans take in no haem-iron, so they should make sure they have a varied diet, providing different iron sources at every meal and eat foods containing vitamin C with meals to help boost iron absorption
- “You should eat plenty of bran with meals”. If you are trying to obtain more iron from your meals, avoid foods highly fortified with bran as the bran can reduce iron absorption
- “You must take iron supplements if you have sports anaemia”. Sports anaemia is not a case of too little iron in the diet nor does it require a supplement. Haemoglobin levels may appear low but this is due to the extra plasma (the liquid part of blood) produced by athletes in heavy training. In other words there is more plasma, not less haemoglobin, so haemoglobin levels appear to be low.