Taking iron pills? How the right foods and timing make a difference to their success

When your doctor prescribes iron pills, is it important to take them with vitamin C for better effect? And should you avoid caffeine (and maybe other things) either side of taking it?

Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies in the world, with women, children, and people with low dietary iron levels the most likely to experience it. Given the many essential roles that iron plays in our body, maintaining optimal iron status is key.

The good news is we can boost our iron absorption by including or avoiding certain foods and drinks at meal times. This can include choosing both iron-rich foods and supplements.

Iron has many critical roles in our body. First and foremost, it is an essential part of haemoglobin, the component of red blood cells that transports oxygen from our lungs to other parts of our body.

In addition, several proteins and enzymes with significant physical and neurophysiological functions also incorporate iron.

But iron deficiency remains stubbornly the most common form of nutritional deficiency in the world. A recent Irish longitudinal study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found 80% of pregnant women were iron-deficient by the third trimester of their pregnancy.

In New Zealand, a 2007 study found about 14% of urban (Auckland) children aged 6-23 months had iron deficiency.

When it’s prolonged, this can lead to anaemia, resulting in impaired immune function, fatigue, weakness, pale skin and other issues such as headaches and difficulty concentrating. For young children, a lack of iron can lead to impaired learning, memory and attention.

This deficiency can have several causes, including inadequate dietary iron intake, blood loss from heavy menstruation, malabsorption issues such as celiac disease, and even rapid growth in children.

Although optimising our iron intake from food is essential, doctors may sometimes determine that supplementation is needed to resolve the problem.