Black tea and iron absorption

Hi everyone,

I’ve been iron deficient for a long time…and I also absolutely love Earl Grey.

Can you tell me more about how black tea affects iron absorption? What happens? How can I combat this and still drink Earl Grey all the time?

Thanks for all your help!

13 Replies
Casey select said

Hi!
The best recommendation is to wait an hour after you eat to drink black or green tea. That gives your body the time it needs to grab up the iron you’ve eaten.

The tannins in the tea (what makes the tea color) bind with the iron (more so plant-based iron than iron from meat) and make it less available for absorption.

Having something with vitamin C on your plate with your iron-rich foods will help your body absorb the iron, also.

If you’re taking an iron supplement, be sure to consume vitamin C in some form (whether a supplement, orange juice, etc.) at the same time, and wait an hour before tea time. :)

Source: Google and having a tendency to have low iron myself. :)

soleiltea said

Thanks for sharing the info, Casey. I also heard from my doctor that chamomile prevents your body from absorbing iron. That’s why it’s nice to drink it right before bed but not along with food, which I used to do.

Casey select said

Peppermint is another herb that can prevent iron absorption. Interesting!

Sami Kelsh said

Thanks for sharing, Casey! I’ve been on a prescribed iron supplement for a couple weeks now and didn’t realise tannins could counteract it, so will have to time my tablets and teas accordingly.

Casey select said

That’s what I have to do. :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

yssah said

um eat lots of liver? :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. It’s a habit of mine to drink tea with my breakfast or right after lunch but I guess I’ll have to space it out a little bit and stick to herbal during mealtimes…except chamomile, I suppose! :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

Casey select said

Here’s to being healthy with tea! :D

Huzzah! Cheers :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

Kaitlin S said

http://jacknorrisrd.com/herbal-teas-inhibit-iron-absorption/ – This is news to me, apparently even herbal teas can inhibit iron absorption (including chamomile)! Not quite as much as black tea, but I guess it is still better to avoid (any) tea with iron containing foods if you are trying to optimize absorption. Better, yet, have those foods with some vitamin C. Lately what I have been doing to optimize iron absorption is having my iron-fortified cereal in the morning along with a glass of orange juice or some vitamin C containing fruit. I make my tea either just before leaving the house, or when I get to work in the morning. The rest of the day I don’t really worry about it too much, but I don’t tend to drink tea with meals most of the time anyway.

Login or sign up to post a message.

ashmanra said

Yes! I have an inherited iron absorption disorder. My mom had it and some of my kids have it. It is no big deal, we just have to watch our red count, iron levels, and occasionally take iron supplements. I was upset when I read that my tea might be a problem, but was relieved to see that it mainly affects non-heme iron, so not so terrible after all. I used to love a glass of sweet tea with steak. Now I tend to drink something with vitamin C with beef, usually grape juice, just to increase how much I absorb and if I am having plant foods that have lots of iron I would wait a while to drink my tea.

Rosali Tea said

Really interesting – could you send me some more information on it? I think I have that! And so does my mom.

ashmanra said

I wish I could send more information! After tons of tests, they can only figure out what I don’t have but they have never figured out what I do have. My mother was in an orphanage and had to take tons of iron. Then I was always anemic. My first child was anemic and giving her a course of iron as a baby made no change in her red blood count. My son had a simple red count done and it was low. My red blood cells are always macrocytic – larger than normal because they have to try to carry extra iron or something. I know sometimes an inability to process B12 can lead to chronic anemia and you treat it with B12 shots. Don’t know if that would work for us. We just control it by having the occasional steak, eating raisins and putting lots of thyme in our eggs, and taking iron supplements when we need to.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.