The amount of total iron in meat versus vegetable sources
often appears be similar, but in the video, Lindsay Chichester, extension
educator at the University of Nebraska, explains the difference between heme
iron found in meat and non-heme iron from vegetable sources.
“Our bodies can more easily absorb the iron in the heme form
from meat than from vegetables in the non-heme form,” she said.
“For vegetarians, you need to eat 1.8 times the amount of
non-heme iron to get the amount from one serving of meat.”
Chichester says that eating meat with vegetables helps
increase the absorption of iron from both sources.
The video also discusses the importance of iron for a
variety of populations including young children, pregnant women and older
adults as well as the health consequences of iron deficiency.
