Iron Absorption and Vitamin C

My blood test came back with suboptimal hemoglobin for the first time in my life.

In researching what I should do, I found it is well-documented that taking 50-100 mg of Vitamin C WITH iron-rich foods can TRIPLE the absorption rate.

The effect is by converting unavailable non-heme iron to absorbable heme iron.

  • 30%-60% of the iron in various meats is non-heme.
  • 100% of the iron in all other food is non-heme.

Here’s a link with citations. ChatGPT - Boosting Iron Absorption with Vitamin C

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It can take a long time to up your hemoglobin to return to normal levels through food alone, depending on your iron saturation. Many people should consider supplementing ferrous sulfate with vitamin C, checking every month or two at the lab on the results.

What are you defining as “suboptimal”? And how did you determine that iron was the cause?

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There is some evidence that suggests in adults less iron could be better Iron: an underrated factor in aging

I’ve read that the body absorbs non heme iron pretty well when it’s deficient, and is able to block excess absorption when it has enough. But does not block additional absorption of heme iron regardless of iron levels.

If you do want to boost absorption, broccoli has vitamin c and probably other benefits.

Over on this thread, we’ve been discussing rapamycin, iron, and the effects on red blood cell size.