Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Published:

The near equivalence of haem and non-haem iron bioavailability and the need for reconsidering dietary iron recommendations

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 68, pages 750–751 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

Associating haem and non-haem iron intake with ‘iron status’ and the risk for anaemia, Vandevijvere et al.1 recently suggested in this Journal that adolescent girls may be a group at risk for iron deficiency. In our view, their work deserves some additional and important comments.

From assessed dietary intake and by using average bioavailability values of 25 and 10% for haem and non-haem iron, respectively, the authors concluded that the estimated requirement for bioavailable iron intake was only met by about 14% of the girls followed-up, a figure determined to a large extent by the proportion of haem and non-haem intake. This conclusion is not in accordance with low estimates of iron depletion (21%) and iron-deficient anaemia (4.7%) reported earlier by the same group.2 This discrepancy coincides with the absence of significant relations between iron intakes and iron status values reflected in serum-soluble transferrin receptor and ferritin levels. Although the authors recognize the complex relationships between iron intake and iron status parameters, subject to interindividual variation of iron absorption and factors other than only iron intake, a reference to recent insights on factors determining iron availability and anaemia is missing.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Vandevijvere S, Michels N, Verstraete S, Ferrari M, Leclercq C, Cuenca-garcía M et al. Intake and dietary sources of haem and non-haem iron among European adolescents and their association with iron status and different lifestyle and socio-economic factors. Eur J Clin Nutr 2013; 67: 765–772.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ferrari M, Mistura L, Patterson E, Sjostrom M, Diaz LE, Stehle P et al. Evaluation of iron status in European adolescents through biochemical iron indicators: the HELENA Study. Eur J Clin Nutr 2011; 65: 340–349.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Hurrell R, Egli I . Iron bioavailability and dietary reference values. Am J Clin Nutr 2010; 91: 1461S–1467SS.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Andrews N, Schmidt P . Iron homeostasis. Annu Rev Physiol 2007; 69: 69–85.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. WHO Assessing the iron status of populations: including literature reviews: report of a Joint World Health Organization/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Technical Consultation on the Assessment of Iron Status at the Population Level, Geneva, Switzerland, 6–8 April 2004, 2nd edn, 2007.

  6. Millward DJ, Garnett T . Food and the planet: nutritional dilemmas of greenhouse gas emission reductions through reduced intakes of meat and dairy foods. Proc Nutr Soc 2010; 69: 103–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. WHO FAO, Vitamin and Mineral Requirements in Human Nutrition. World Health Organisation and Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations: Rome, 2004. (WHO/FAO, 2002). Human Vitamin and Mineral Requirements. Chapter 13. Iron.

  8. Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition Iron and Health. Report TSO (The Stationery Office) UK, 2010.

  9. Harvey LJ, Berti C, Casgrain A, Cetin I, Collings R, Gurinovic M et al. EURRECA—Estimating iron requirements for deriving dietary reference values. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2013; 53: 1064–1076.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Bregman DB, Morris D, Koch TA, He A, Goodnough LT . Hepcidin levels predict nonresponsiveness to oral iron therapy in patients with iron deficiency anemia. Am J Hematol 2013; 88: 97–101.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This reaction summarizes part of the contents of a scientific advice on Red meat, processed red meats and the prevention of colorectal cancer’ by the Belgian Superior Health Council. The authors were members of the ad hoc work group, and sincerely thank the other members of this work group (G De Backer, S De Henauw, N Delzenne, L Herman, G Maghuin-Rogister, B Mertens, N Paquot, M Peeters and J Van Camp).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Superior Health Council, Brussels, Belgium

    D Demeyer, S De Smet & M Ulens

  2. Laboratory for Animal Nutrition and Animal Product Quality, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle, Belgium

    D Demeyer & S De Smet

Authors
  1. D Demeyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S De Smet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. M Ulens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S De Smet.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Demeyer, D., De Smet, S. & Ulens, M. The near equivalence of haem and non-haem iron bioavailability and the need for reconsidering dietary iron recommendations. Eur J Clin Nutr 68, 750–751 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2014.58

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2014.58

Search

Advanced search

Quick links