Interaction Of Iron And Vitamin C

Iron and vitamin C are essential parts of everyone's diet. Iron is a mineral that functions in many processes in the body to prevent the damage of DNA, carry oxygen throughout the blood, and make energy. Vitamin C is involved in many metabolic reactions in the body as well as the synthesis of collagen. Iron and vitamin C are different nutrients with different functions, but vitamin C is essential for healthy iron levels.

Iron

Dietary iron comes in two forms, heme iron and non-heme iron. Heme iron is found in animal meats such as red meat, poultry and fish. Non-heme iron is a plant-based form. Common sources of non-heme iron are lentils, beans, and spinach. Non-heme iron is also the kind that is fortified into cereals and used as an iron supplement tablet.

Non-Heme Iron and the Stomach

It is often recommended to individuals who have iron deficiency anemia that they take their iron supplements with orange juice. This is because the vitamin C in the orange juice aids in iron absorption. When vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, enters the stomach it mixes with the iron supplement that contains non-heme iron. The ascorbic acid is able to reduce iron from its non-heme form to a form called ferric iron.

Ferric Iron and the Small Intestine

The ferric iron then leaves the stomach and enters the small intestine. Iron absorption in the small intestine is able to occur because the iron is in this ferric form. Ferric iron has a low pH, which enables the mucous cells of the small intestine lining to take up the iron. If it wasn't for the vitamin C converting non-heme iron into ferric iron, the iron would pass through the body and not be absorbed.

Recommendations

The Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health issues the dietary reference intakes (RDI) for iron and vitamin C based on age and gender. For men ages 19 and older, the RDI is 8 mg of iron and 90 mg of vitamin C. Women ages 19 to 50 should have 18 mg daily of iron and 75 mg of vitamin C. After 50 years of age women usual hit menopause, and the iron RDI drops to 8 mg.