Is coffee bad for iron deficiency?
Several studies have found that coffee and other caffeinated drinks can reduce iron absorption.
One study found that drinking a cup of coffee with a hamburger meal reduced iron absorption by 39%. Drinking tea, a known inhibitor of iron absorption, with the same meal reduced iron absorption by a whopping 64%. Another study found that drinking a cup of instant coffee with a bread meal reduced iron absorption by 60–90%.
What’s more, the stronger the coffee or tea, the less iron absorbed.
However, caffeine alone does not seem to be the main substance interfering with iron absorption.
In fact, one study found that caffeine itself only binds to about 6% of the iron from a meal. Given that this is a relatively small amount, other factors must affect iron absorption. Furthermore, regular coffee consumption may also have an effect on iron storage levels. A large study found that among elderly people, each weekly cup of coffee was associated with a 1% lower level of ferritin, a protein that indicates iron storage levels.
However, it’s important to remember that the effects of coffee and caffeine on iron absorption seem to depend on when you drink your coffee. For example, drinking coffee one hour before a meal had no effect on iron absorption.
Why is Minimizing Coffee Consumption Important for Managing Iron Deficiency?
Efficient iron absorption is essential for your body to support various crucial functions, including the production of hemoglobin in your blood. Iron plays a vital role in maintaining the health of your cells, as well as contributing to the well-being of your hair, skin, and nails. However, it's important to note that only a small portion of the iron present in the food you consume is absorbed into your body through the cells lining your intestine.
The iron is released into your bloodstream and stored in the liver, where it helps to make new blood cells and bone marrow. The recommended daily allowance for iron is 8 milligrams for men and 18 milligrams for women, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Coffee and Iron deficiency anemia
When you drink a cup of coffee, tea or some types of soda, the level of caffeine in your blood peaks in about one hour and maintains that level for several hours.
Half of the caffeine you consume remains in your body for up to six hours, and it may be 10 hours before the caffeine is gone from your bloodstream.
During this time, several components in caffeine may inhibit the absorption of iron in your body, which could have long-term adverse effects on your health.
Iron is needed for the production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to all parts of your body. An iron deficiency that may lead to anemia could develop when your body's iron stores run too low. Iron deficiency marks an association between coffee and iron deficiency as a contributing factor to health problems.
The American Society of Hematology lists some of the symptoms of an iron deficiency, See your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms:
- Fatigue: Persistent tiredness and a lack of energy are among the most common symptoms. You may feel exhausted even after getting enough sleep.
- Pale Skin: Iron deficiency can lead to paleness or a noticeably paler complexion.
- Weakness: You may experience weakness in your muscles, making it difficult to perform everyday activities.
- Shortness of Breath: Simple tasks like climbing stairs may leave you feeling breathless.
- Cold Hands and Feet: Reduced circulation due to iron deficiency can result in colder extremities.
- Headaches: Frequent or severe headaches can be a symptom.
- Dizziness or lightheadedness: You may feel dizzy when standing up or moving quickly.
- Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS): Some individuals with iron deficiency experience uncomfortable sensations in their legs and an irresistible urge to move them, often interfering with sleep.
- Brittle Nails: Nails can become brittle and prone to splitting.
- Difficulty Concentrating: Cognitive function may be impaired, leading to difficulty concentrating and decreased work or school performance.
- Heart Palpitations: You may notice irregular heartbeats or a rapid heartbeat.
- Hair Loss: In some cases, hair loss or thinning may occur.
Should You Reduce Your Coffee and Caffeine Intake for iron deficiency?
Several studies show that coffee and caffeine are not associated with iron deficiency in healthy people with no risk of iron deficiency.
Many people get enough iron from the food they eat. Regularly getting an adequate amount of vitamin C and heme iron from meat, poultry and seafood can help overcome iron inhibition from drinking coffee and tea.
However, this may not be the case when polyphenols are consumed at very high levels.
For those at risk of coffee iron deficiency, high consumption of coffee and tea may not be the best idea.
Groups at risk include women of childbearing age, infants and young children, people with a poor or restrictive diet, such as vegetarians, and people with certain medical conditions like inflammatory bowel disease.
Yet, it may not be necessary for these groups to completely cut out coffee and caffeine.
Instead, people at risk are advised to follow these helpful tips:
- Drink coffee or tea between meals
- Wait at least one hour after eating before drinking coffee or tea
- Increase heme iron intake through meat, poultry or seafood
- Increase vitamin C intake at mealtimes
- Eat iron-fortified foods
- Eat foods high in calcium and high-fiber foods like whole grains separately from iron-rich foods.
This will help limit the effects that coffee and caffeinated drinks have on iron absorption.
How to reduce the interference that coffee absorbs to iron?
Drinking coffee iron deficiency? Drink this way, so that coffee does not interfere with iron absorption!
When you feel tired, many people will choose coffee to refresh, but some people drink coffee to have the spirit, some people are drinking more and more tired, in fact, this has a lot to do with the time to drink coffee, the food eaten when drinking coffee, and even each person's physique.
Because the body can not produce enough hemoglobin to carry oxygen, it will naturally feel lack of oxygen, fatigue, it is difficult to raise the spirit; if you feel that you drink more coffee can not improve the mental condition, we should pay attention to their own body can be some iron deficiency.
Men
- <1 cup of coffee per day: serum ferritin 100.7 ng / mL
- 1 cup of coffee per day: serum ferritin 98.1 ng /mL
- 2 cups of coffee per day: serum ferritin 92.2 ng/mL
- ≥3 cups of coffee per day: serum ferritin 92.2 ng/mL
Women
- <1 cup of coffee per day: serum ferritin 35.6 ng/mL
- 1 cup of coffee per day: serum ferritin 33.0 ng/mL
- 2 cups of coffee per day: serum ferritin 30.2 ng/mL
- ≥3 cups of coffee per day: serum ferritin 28.9 ng/mL
Men
- <1 cup of coffee per day: serum ferritin 100.7 ng/mL
- 1 cup of coffee per day: serum ferritin 98.1 ng/mL
- 2 cups of coffee per day: serum ferritin 92.2 ng/mL
- ≥3 cups of coffee per day: serum ferritin 92.2 ng/mL
Women
- <1 cup of coffee per day: serum ferritin 35.6 ng/mL
- 1 cup of coffee per day: serum ferritin 33.0 ng/mL
- 2 cups of coffee per day: serum ferritin 30.2 ng/mL
- ≥3 cups of coffee per day: serum ferritin 28.9 ng/mL
The normal value of ferritin is 10~200ng/mL, and it is recommended to maintain it between 20~100ng/mL.
Don't want coffee iron deficiency? You should avoid meal times and do not drink coffee with a vegetable meal.
The research team mentioned that in the past, there have been reports showing that drinking coffee one hour after eating, the absorption of iron fell by an average of 39%, while the polyphenols in coffee mainly make non-heme iron (plant iron) less easily absorbed, heme iron (animal iron) is not affected, so it is recommended that if you want to drink coffee, it is best to follow the following ways.
1. Avoid meal times, preferably before meals, or 2 hours after meals before drinking coffee.
2. When drinking coffee, do not eat iron-rich vegetables, such as spinach, amaranth, beans, etc.
3. Don't drink more than 3 cups of coffee a day. (One cup is based on a medium cup of 450ml)
According to the data, common symptoms of iron deficiency include weakness, fatigue, drowsiness, dizziness, shortness of breath, palpitations, pale face, poor physical strength (the same amount of exercise, before it will not wheeze, now it will wheeze), etc. Women's menstruation or bleeding from wounds, gastrointestinal bleeding, will reduce the amount of iron in the body. To maintain sufficient iron in the body, the most common way is to ingest food, so it is important to maintain sufficient iron when eating.
If you really want to drink coffee to refresh yourself, you can have a cup of coffee in between breakfast and lunch, and another cup after lunch, but then stop drinking.
The Bottom Line
However, this is more likely due to their polyphenol contents, not caffeine itself.
Caffeinated foods and drinks are not associated with iron deficiency in healthy people, as iron absorption is affected by many other dietary factors.
However, those at risk of deficiency would benefit from avoiding coffee and tea at mealtimes and waiting an hour after a meal to drink coffee or tea.
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