This week a listener question has prompted us to discuss iron absorption and the effect of anti-nutrients. In particular, do phytates and oxalates in plant foods put us at risk of iron deficiency? Daisy and Clare conclude the answer as ever may be to focus on eating a diverse range of plant foods and not to go too much into the weeds (unless of course they are dandelions- an important source of iron we forgot to mention!)

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References:

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/IronFactsheet201123.pdf

https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/iron-rich-foods-iron-deficiency.html

Pires SMG, Reis RS, Cardoso SM, Pezzani R, Paredes-Osses E, Seilkhan A, Ydyrys A, Martorell M, Sönmez Gürer E, Setzer WN, Abdull Razis AF, Modu B, Calina D, Sharifi-Rad J. Phytates as a natural source for health promotion: A critical evaluation of clinical trials. Front Chem. 2023 Apr 14;11:1174109. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1174109. PMID: 37123871; PMCID: PMC10140425.

Piskin E, Cianciosi D, Gulec S, Tomas M, Capanoglu E. Iron Absorption: Factors, Limitations, and Improvement Methods. ACS Omega. 2022 Jun 10;7(24):20441-20456. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.2c01833. PMID: 35755397; PMCID: PMC9219084.