Iron Information

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FOOD COOKED IN STEEL WOKS HAS INCREASED IRON

Cooking food in iron pots has been previously shown to increase its iron

content. The iron which then is found in the food is usable by humans. Steel

is about 98% or more iron. This study investigated whether or not food cooked

in steel woks had increased iron.

Three batches of ten different foods were cooked in a steel wok. The same

foods were also cooked in a glass pan. The iron content of all of the foods

was measured both in the raw form and after cooking in either steel or glass.

All foods except eggs contained more iron when cooked in steel than in glass.

The iron content of the raw food and the food cooked in glass was about the

same. More acidic foods and foods cooked for a longer time added more iron

during cooking in a steel wok. The largest increase in iron was seen in sweet

and sour sauce, which went from 0.02 milligrams of iron per tablespoon before

cooking to 1 milligram of iron per tablespoon after cooking for more than an

hour in a steel wok. Other foods showing a marked increase in iron after

cooking in a steel wok were carrots (almost 9-fold increase), tofu (6-fold),

Chinese cabbage (5-fold), green beans (3.5-fold), and rice (2-fold).

These results suggest a way of increasing dietary iron, namely by cooking in

a steel wok or other iron cookware.

For further information see: Zhou Y-D, Brittin HC. Increased iron content of

some Chinese foods due to cooking in steel woks. J Am Diet Assoc 1994;

94:1153-1155.

Iron

Iron (Fe) is a mineral which combines with proteins and copper to produce

hemoglobin to carry oxygen throughout the body. Iron deficiency results in

fatigue, muscle weakness and anemia. Iron strengthens immunity, and is a key

to wound healing.

Iron is used routinely during pregnancy and breastfeeding to prevent iron

deficiency (also for women using contraceptive drugs). . Because of increased

iron needs during these times, it is difficult to obtain all the required

iron from the diet alone.

It keeps hair color young, eyes bright, the body strong. Vitamin-C rich foods

like tomatoes, lemon juice, vinegar and citric acid greatly enhance iron

absorption. However, free, unbound iron is a strong pro-oxidant, and can be

toxic at abnormally high levels. Food sources include molasses, cherries,

prunes, leafy greens, poultry, liver, legumes, peas, eggs. fish and whole

grains. Herb sources are alfalfa, bilberry, burdock, catnip, yellow dock

root, watercress, sarsaparilla and nettles.

Iron is a very important mineral of which we must be constantly aware. Extra

iron is not needed by everyone, but when it is required, we must increase

iron foods or take supplemental iron to prevent loss of energy and enthusiasm

for life and the many other problems caused by iron deficiency.

Per tablespoon: 9 calories, 1.5g protein, 0g fat, 1g carbohydrates, 0.3g

fiber, 69mg sodium, 0.3mg iron.

The two faces of iron

How much iron you need depends on your sex, age, diet and genes.

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In this article:

Too little iron?

Too much iron?

This week's recipe:

Spinach Pesto Dip

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HIGH IRON FOODS

High in iron: liver, beef, ham, brewer's yeast, legumes, lima beans, kidney

beans, dark green leafy vegetables, dried fruits (apricots, peaches, raisins,

prunes), sardines, potato skin, fortified cereals.

Food has two forms of iron: heme and non-heme. You absorb up to 30 percent

of heme iron, found only in animal tissues (meat, poultry and fish). You

absorb 2-10 percent of non-heme iron, found in plant foods as well as meat.

Eating meat generally boosts body iron far more than eating non-heme iron.

What boosts iron absorption most: meat, iron supplements, alcohol and foods

high in vitamin C, according to new research at Tufts University. Vegetable

iron and vitamin C supplements did not boost iron.

What blocks iron absorption: coffee and tea taken with meals.

Cooking: Iron or stainless steel cookware transfers iron into food,

especially acidic food such as tomatoes. One classic study found that

spaghetti sauce had almost 30 times as much iron when cooked in an iron pot

than in a glass pot.

o you get too much or too little iron? Either can be exceedingly dangerous.

Here is the latest research on this vital nutrient found in foods including

spinach and shrimp.

Hazard 1: Too little iron

Iron deficiency is America's most common nutritional problem, notably for

women and children. Low iron causes anemia and a breakdown in vital functions

leading to disease, premature birth, low mental performance and death. Nearly

8 million young women (9-11 percent) and 750,000 toddlers (9 percent) are

deficient in iron, according to a new report by the federal Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention.

What you should do:

-- If you're an adolescent girl or a woman of childbearing age, you are

extremely vulnerable to iron deficiency because of the monthly excretion of

iron during menstruation. Eat foods rich in iron and vitamin C. As insurance,

take a multivitamin-mineral supplement with the RDA of 15 milligrams of iron.

Women of childbearing age should be screened for iron deficiency, says the

CDC.

-- If you are pregnant, check with your doctor about prenatal vitamins. Take

a low-dose iron supplement and eat iron-rich foods to supply 30mg iron per

day. Insufficient iron triples the likelihood of low-birth-weight infants and

doubles premature births.

-- If you have a baby, breast-feeding is the best guarantee of adequate iron.

If you don't breast-feed, use iron-fortified formula. You can introduce

iron-rich foods at 4 to 6 months. Caution: Primarily feeding cow's or goat's

milk before age 1 and drinking 3 or more cups of milk a day from age 1 to 5

may promote iron deficiency and intestinal bleeding. Deficiency in babies may

cause irreversible motor, mental and social abnormalities.

Hazard 2: Too much iron

Accumulating, but controversial, evidence suggests that excess iron can

promote heart disease, diabetes, cancer and general aging.

The latest: A 1997 study by neurologists at Innsbruck University Clinic in

Austria showed that men and women with the highest blood ferritin (a form of

iron) had the worst progression of artery clogging over five years. When body

stores of iron were reduced, heart disease risk declined.

The theory is that excess iron generates " free radical " chemicals that damage

cells and encourage a build-up of bad LDL cholesterol. Too much iron,

primarily in red meat, may promote cancer, notably colon cancer, says recent

research. Once metabolized, iron is not readily excreted (except by bleeding)

and can build up in tissue.

What you should do:

-- If you're male or a postmenopausal woman, skip iron supplements. Teenage

boys need less iron than girls, and iron deficiency is uncommon in boys.

After age 18, men should not regularly take iron supplements, warns leading

iron researcher Jerome Sullivan, a pathologist at the VA Medical Center in

ton, S.C. Photo Credit: KAREN SCHULD FOR USA WEEKEND