Which Is Better? Iron That Comes From Meat, or Iron That Comes From Plants?

Animal meat has iron in it, but so do some plants like spinach, beans, etc (the list is below). So how are those two iron sources different, and does that even matter for your body? It turns out that where your iron comes from absolutely does matter.

Animal meat contains a form of iron called “heme iron”, which your body absorbs very well. Once it gets inside your body, iron and heme form something called hemoglobin in your blood. This what allows your blood cells to grab the oxygen you breathe into your lungs, and take that throughout your body. Without it, you would basically suffocate. 

Plants on the other hand have a form of iron that does not have heme in it. The iron found in those plants is still important for your body, but the key difference is that your body just doesn’t absorb it as well.   

How To Boost Your Iron Absorption?

This is an easy one. Eat your non heme iron rich veggies with anything with Vitamin C. So if you’re having a spinach salad, for example, include chopped red bell peppers which are super high in Vitamin C. A common garnish for a side dish of beans (black beans, pintos, etc) is diced onions. This is great nutritionally because the high Vitamin C content in the onions helps your body absorb the non heme iron in those beans.

These are just a couple of ways to add Vitamin C foods to boost your body’s ability to absorb iron from non heme sources. 

From Harvard, review on the differences. 

Sources of heme iron:

• Oysters, clams, mussels
• Beef or chicken liver
• Organ meats
• Canned sardines
• Beef
• Poultry
• Canned light tuna

Sources of non-heme iron: 

• Fortified breakfast cereals
• Beans
• Dark chocolate (at least 45%)
• Lentils
• Spinach
• Potato with skin
• Nuts, seeds
• Enriched rice or bread