iron intake...

[BabyMamma93]

so i thought this morning, while eating my nesquik chocolate balls cereal and milk..
It says on the box it has iron in.. they say milk stops your body absorbing iron, but cereal is eaten with milk, so whats the point in that? they brag about all this iron in cereal, yet your not getting any cos the milk is stopping your body from absorbing it..
Are we supposed to eat it dry? not that id complain, i do like some cereals without milk, but not for breakfast..

Pointless thread really, just thought id share my curiosity

 

[emyandpotato]

Milk stops you absorbing iron?! I'm anaemic and my GP has never once mentioned to have less milk or to not take my iron tablets with milk.

 

[BabyMamma93]

really? when i was given iron tablets i was told and even read in the leaflet not to have a cup of tea or milk around the time of taking my tablet as milk stops or slows down the absorption of iron..

 

[emyandpotato]

Mine didn't come with a leaflet, I was just told to take iron supplements twice a day so got the Asda ones. Do you know how long you have to wait before/after taking them to have milk? This might well be why my iron levels are still so low!

 

[BabyMamma93]

no they just say to give it time before or after a bre or milk product. i usually leave it about a hour x

 

[summer rain]

The reason they add iron to cereals is because in the 60s there was a severe malnutrition problem in the US and it was decided that breakfast cereals most of which no longer contain any vitamins or minerals once processed, would be fortified with certain vitamins and iron, by law even though certain vitamins and minerals aren't well absorbed from cereals. I don't think it's a legal requirement here but because many of our cereals are originally American it ended up being the case here too xx

 

[FirstBean]

When on iron tablets when pregnant the midwife said don't take the tablets with milk and have no milk for 2 hours afterwards either.

 

[lhancock90]

I drank absolutely loads of milk when i was pregnant with Evelyn and Ivy, was on iron tablets but remained anemic, i think i understand why now

 

[Pearls18]

I think it is the way the tablets are actually digested. I have been on tablets that couldn't be taken within a set time of dairy products, I think it was something to do with lactose....? And breaking it down in the tummy? Perhaps when food is fortified it is absorbed differently as you chew it and break it down first? I'm only guessing.

Vitamin C is good at aiding iron absorption if you're worried,

 

[summer rain]

As far as I have read fortified cereals aren't a good way to get nutrients whether iron or anything else, in a recipe book I have that focuses on nutrition it mentioned a study that found people who got their thiamin from breakfast cereals had lower levels or were even deficient even though they were in terms of levels getting more thiamin than others were from their diet. As I said it really is just from a really old law based on old science that if looked at again would probably be thrown out. We have similar laws in this country but with other foods, flour has to be fortified with certain vitamins and evaporated and powdered milk have to be fortified with vitamin D, by law. In that case it's a throwback from when evaporated and powdered milk were used as infant formula so it was done to protect the health of babies. Obviously no-one used regular powdered milk or evaporated milk as formula since the 1970s in the UK but the law still stands. Xx

 

[d_b]

Interesting, I never knew that. My doctor said to take the iron tablet with a food high in vitamin c but never mentioned milk.

 

[MiniKiwi]

I wouldn't rely on breakfast cereals as your main source of iron but... calcium inhibits the absorbtion of iron. You should also avoid any tea and coffee for (I think it was!) an hour or two before and after taking iron supplements as caffiene also affects the absorbtion of iron.

Vit C on the other hand aids the absorbtion of iron so taking an iron tablet with a glass of OJ or a meal with vit c/tomatoes or whatever is a good idea