Gloria, I am enjoying your site very much but haven't read everything on it so forgive me if the answer to my question is already here somewhere.

My question is: How much time before and how much time after can I drink regular black tea so as NOT to interfere with nonheme iron absorption in my meal. I drink 3 to 4 cups of this tea a day, sometimes steeping the Lipton with a bag of green tea at the same time. How long before a meal and how long after a meal do I have to wait to have my tea? I don't want to give up my tea! I also don't want to be iron-deficient. The lab results will be back soon.

Thanks.

Welcome to the board Jill. Your question is not easy to answer Stomach emptying time depends on a variety of factors - how much and what foods you eat at the time. In general, liquid empties our stomach a lot faster than solids. However, if you drink your black tea with milk or cream, for instance, emptying time will take longer. Ideally and theoretically (i have to stress THEORETICALLY), meals eaten 4 hours apart will not influence absorption.

Just curious, have you actually been diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia? The reason I asked is that if you are not, I wouldn't worry about it. As you've read our Iron article, there are many iron-inhibitors than just tea, it's rather stressful to avoid them all. Pls keep us posted with the lab results

Hello,

I have been diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia. I take iron supplements with dinner. With breakfast I take my multivitamins. But I also like to drink tea and I know that the tannins in tea can affect iron absorption. What time is good for tea? 4 hours before??? I need to drink the tea because it helps with the constipation caused by the iron. The tea works 8-10 hrs. after drinking.

Thanks,
Michelle

Hi everyone,
Nobody seems to be mentioning where they try to source their iron, and it is important. A healthy body will only absorb 2-5% of iron from non-haem (sorry we speak English english in Australia) plant source whereas you can absorb 15-25% haem-iron from animal source. As Gloria has pointed out in Health Castles excellent article on iron, many things interfere with absorption of iron, such as caffeine( coffee, cocoa) tannins in tea, phytates in bran and wholegrains, fibre, oxalates in green leafy vegetables all interfere with iron absorption. If you drink a glass of orange juice with your breakfast cereal it will help you absorb more of the iron. A little redmeat and some vitamin c rich food will help you absorb more iron from plant sources. Popeye got it totally wrong with spinach, even though spinach contains a lot of iron the phytates and fibre bind it up so you can not absorb much iron if it is eaten alone. Liver,kidneys and heart have approximately twice as much iron as chicken and three times as much as fish, oysters are a good source. Good sources of non-haem iron are legumes (beans,lentils,chickpeas). The yolk of eggs, cereal grains, wholegrain and wholemeal breads, iron fortified cereals. Dark green leafy vegetables, including cabbage,broccoli. Dried fruits and nuts and seeds. Here in Australia many women do not get enough iron because they don't eat enough redmeat, they skip meals and they go on very restrictive diets that eliminate whole food groups. Vegetarians can also be at risk of iron deficiency. You can, however, get enough iron from the food sources mentioned, especially if you combine it with vitamin c. Menstruating,lactating women would need about twice as much iron as men.
Tea between meals should not effect absorption, I would think, what do you think Gloria?
John Bobbin BNat