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Tea – Nutrition and Iron Deficiency
Almost all of us, when we've been alone with ourselves and reflecting on our lives, have considered this at least once;
“Life was very difficult in ancient times. Now technology has advanced, times have changed, and it's easier to access accurate information. A person living in ancient times was truly unfortunate. Now there's no burden of carrying water from a stream; hot water flows abundantly from the tap. There are more important things to do.”
Thinking this way and believing life to be easy, we are only now beginning to realize that the unseen burdens are actually much heavier than a bucket of water. By unseen burdens, we mean living according to what needs to be done while avoiding the long list of things not to do; managing work, which determines the quality of life, while striving to maintain balance in social relationships; and being a person who enjoys life and brings joy to others while considering the happiness of those close to them.
In this hectic and fast-paced life, the small, joyful moments we gift ourselves sometimes become one of the sources of strength that keep us going. For a tea lover, tea means much more than just a necessity. In the midst of a stressful, tiring life, the value of the tea in a cardboard cup is only truly understood when one experiences its absence.
Iron Deficiency and Tea
After experiencing chronic fatigue, you go to the doctor and learn you suffer from iron deficiency. To make matters worse, tea is now forbidden for you. Or, in another scenario, while enjoying a pleasant Sunday breakfast with your family, sipping your tea, you suddenly notice an unpleasant article in the newspaper containing words like "tea," "anemia," and the professor's photograph—with his serious expression and knowing gaze implying he's the author—convinces you of the news' accuracy even before you read the article.
To help you avoid this unpleasant situation and prevent you from unnecessarily depriving yourself of tea, we conducted research and wanted to share some facts with you. First of all, does tea affect iron absorption? The answer is both yes and no.
Iron Sources and the Effect of Tea
Isn't that interesting? Iron deficiency, the most common type of anemia in the world, affects 35% of women and 20% of men, and this rate can rise to 50% in pregnant women. There are two sources of iron: plant-based iron and animal-based iron. Non-heme and heme. We call the iron obtained from meat heme, and the iron obtained from purslane non-heme. As you can guess, we already meet most of our iron needs from animal foods. This is not because plant-based foods do not contain sufficient iron, but because the non-heme form of iron is poorly utilized by the body. Myoglobin in animal muscle tissue, however, contains very easily absorbed iron.
The truth is, the absorption pathways of organic iron from animal sources and inorganic iron from plant sources are quite different in the body. While tea has been observed to negatively affect the absorption of non-heme iron, there is no significant evidence that it affects heme iron (iron from animal sources). However, another study shows that tea increases the absorption of zinc, manganese, and copper. It seems that the polyphenols in tea don't interfere with iron absorption in someone who eats scrambled eggs, but they do affect the iron absorption of someone with an upset stomach who eats potatoes and rice. The importance of vegans being cautious about tea consumption has been heavily emphasized in research.
Results
However, according to recent research, individuals who consume sufficient animal products do not experience iron deficiency due to tea. Many factors contribute to iron deficiency, including poor nutrition, growth spurts, vegetarian diets, and pregnancy. Furthermore, iron absorption is such a delicate process that tea isn't the only factor affecting it. Soy, soy milk proteins, coffee, bran, whole grains, certain nuts and seeds also play a role. As you can see, the situation is quite sensitive. Simply giving up tea and returning to your old lifestyle won't solve the problem.
This is the result of research we compiled from many reliable sources. If you would like to obtain more detailed information, we recommend that you read articles on the absorption of heme (heme iron) and non-heme iron (non-heme iron) on trusted health platforms on the internet.
Rana