La absorción del hierro de los alimentos / Iron absorption from food

ABSTRACT

Studies on iron absorption from food when iron is incorporated biologically have shown that it varies considerably according to the type of food and individual tested; it even varies within the same individual in consecutive days. Iron from vegetable food, especially from spinach, corn, and black beans, is poorly absorbed, with a mean of less than 2 per cent in normal subjects. The only exception is soybean iron, the average absorption of which (11 per cent) is comparable to the range observed for foods of animal origin. The rate of iron absorption from each individual food correlated significantly with inorganic iron absorption, and not with either plasma iron or percentage of transferrin saturation. The ration of iron absorption versus inorganic iron absorption was less than 0.20 in the case of corn, black beans, and spinach; from 0.20 to 0.29 with wheat and lettuce; from 0.30 to 0.39 with soybean and hemoglobin; 0.52 with fish, and 0.97 with veal