Vitamin C For Iron Absorption: How Does It Work?

Iron is a mineral that ensures oxygen is delivered throughout the body for it to function properly. If we don’t get enough, we can suffer fatigue, energy loss, and illness. But, even if you eat plenty of iron-rich foods, the body can struggle to absorb it - particularly if it comes from plant sources.

Vitamin C is scientifically proven to significantly boost iron absorption when the two are consumed together. But how does it do this?

This article reveals everything you need to know about iron and vitamin C and how they work together to enhance your health.

The Importance Of Iron

Iron is an extremely important mineral for good health and is found in every cell in the body. If you’ve ever tasted blood, vampire or no vampire, you may have noticed a metallic taste.

This is because iron’s primary function is to act as a building block for hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells that carries essential oxygen throughout the body. Iron also stores oxygen in myoglobin, a protein found in muscles, which provides necessary oxygen to power the movement of muscles.

A lack of iron can be detrimental to our health as it impairs the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen, which is crucial for the function of all cells and organs.

As a result, if left untreated, iron deficiency can lead to anemia, a condition that causes fatigue, poor mental performance, breathlessness, heart palpitations, and increased bouts of illness ¹.

Sources Of Iron

The only way to get iron is by eating certain foods. It exists in two forms: heme and non-heme. As the name suggests, heme iron contains hemoglobin, whereas non-heme iron doesn’t.

Sources of heme iron

Heme iron is considered the best form of iron as it is more easily absorbed ². It is found in animal foods such as:

• Beef
• Chicken
• Fish
• Pork
• Red meats
• Organ meats

Sources of non-heme iron

Non-heme iron is much less efficiently absorbed by the body as it must be converted to a different form. It comes from plant sources such as:

• Beans
• Lentils
• Dried fruits
• Kale
• Spinach
• Fortified foods
• Wheat
• Oats

Vitamin C and Iron: A Marriage Made in Heaven

Basically, iron can be a bit of a tricky one to absorb, especially if you follow a more vegetarian diet. Because we care about your health, we’ll let you in on a little secret.

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You can help boost iron absorption by combining it with a healthy dose of vitamin C. How does that work? We hear you ask.

According to research, vitamin C converts non-heme iron into a form that is more easily absorbed by the body, increasing total iron absorption by up to 300%! ³

Vitamin C is found in many fruit and vegetables such as citrus fruits, dark leafy greens, berries, and cruciferous veg. Eating any of these alongside iron-rich foods will help increase absorption. This could be as simple as squeezing some lemon over your salads or drinking a glass of orange juice after.

But the benefits of vitamin C for our health go way beyond assisting with iron absorption. Find out more below.

Why Do We Need Vitamin C?

Vitamin C is an important vitamin that has a range of functions in the body. Many of its health benefits are linked to its potent antioxidant effects.

Oxidative stress in the body occurs when there is an excess of highly-reactive molecules, known as free radicals. These wreak havoc throughout the body, causing damage to cells, triggering inflammation, and increasing the risk for chronic diseases, such as cancer.

Antioxidants like vitamin C support the immune system by keeping free radicals under control to minimize damage, reduce inflammation, and protect against disease ⁴.

Additionally, vitamin C further boosts the immune system, enhancing the production and function of white blood cells. These are important fighters against invading pathogens like bacteria, viruses, and parasites ⁵.

Other important roles of vitamin C include supporting collagen production for healthy bones, skin, and cartilage, regulating moods, protecting against cognitive decline, and maintaining a healthy heart.

A Powerful Supplement Combination

Realistically, many of us live such hectic lives that it’s challenging to get all the iron and vitamin C we need from our diet alone. After a long, busy day, we open the fridge to find bare shelves staring back at us. Grocery shopping is out of the question, so we concoct a meal with whatever is available, with little iron or vitamin C in sight.

A supplement is a convenient and effective way to ensure your body gets enough of these important nutrients daily. Performance Lab Nutrigenesis Multi delivers your daily dose of iron plus a dose of vitamin C for optimal absorption. It also contains all the other essential vitamins and minerals your body needs for optimal health.

Combine this with PL-Immune to get other vital nutrients that strengthen your immune system and improve overall health.

Conclusion

Iron is a crucial mineral that supports the production of hemoglobin in red blood cells and oxygen transportation throughout the body. Without it, we would become anemic, feel fatigued, weak, have trouble thinking and concentrating, and get ill more frequently.

Iron comes in two forms: heme, which comes from animal products and is easily absorbed, and non-heme, which comes from plant sources and is much harder for the body to absorb.

Vitamin C can help enhance iron absorption by converting non-heme iron into a more readily absorbed form. Vitamin C also has numerous other health benefits, including protection against oxidative stress, reducing the risk of diseases, and supporting a healthy heart, brain, bones, and immune system.

Supplements that contain both vitamin C and iron are a great way to ensure your body absorbs iron properly and that you obtain all the nutrients required for optimal health.