Iron deficiency anaemia is still common is Western nations despite improvements in nutrition. Those at risk of iron deficient anaemia include vegetarians, vegans, and those who experience regular and excessive blood loss. Iron is present in red meat as haem iron, because it forms part of the haemoglobin and myoglobin molecules. Haem iron makes up around 60% of the iron in meat, and is relatively well absorbed. Non-haem iron is found in plants, and is typically bound to components of plant tissue. This rendered the iron relatively poorly absorbed because it must first be solubilised in the gut. Studies consistently show that haem iron is significantly better absorbed than non-haem iron in humans. For example, in one study1, researchers fed a meal of meat and vegetables to subjects and measured their iron status. Although the meat represented only one third of the total content of the meal, it accounted for around 80% of the iron absorbed. Therefore had meat not been present in the meal the absorption of iron would have been significantly reduced.
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