A college friend asked me today if it wasn’t spinach that was high in iron. The rumor about spinach being high in iron is actually just a rumor. At that time in 1930 a scientist thought that one hundred grams of spinach contains 53 mg of iron, but the real only contains 2.7 mg of iron. To maintain iron balance, men need 5-10 mg of iron per day and women need 7-20 mg of iron per day. That’s at least three taels of spinach a day, but the iron in the plant is not so easily absorbed. Iron in the human diet exists in two main forms, heme-bound iron, which is found in animal foods, and non-heme iron, which is found in plant foods. As you can tell from the name, animal-based iron is utilized most efficiently. So does the iron in plants make do? Not really. Iron in plants is affected by a number of factors. Vitamin C promotes iron absorption, but the body is not deficient in Vitamin C and does not need to be supplemented. Tannins in tea and polyphenols in coffee inhibit iron absorption. Non-heme iron absorption can vary up to tenfold from one food combination to another. The bioavailability of this iron in plants is much poorer than in animals. A vegetarian diet is especially discouraged for women because of their physiological need for iron, which is much greater than that of men. Long-term vegetarianism results in an increased risk of iron deficiency anemia. I have heard that eggs are also part of the vegetarian diet, so vegans should at least eat an egg. The claim that a vegan diet can be this and that and longevity and champions is just wishful thinking. Speaking of vegetarianism and anemia and have to mention malnutrition anemia, this anemia is due to folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiency. Folic acid, which cannot be synthesized by the body, is widely found in green leafy vegetables and animal liver and kidneys, and vegetarians are generally not deficient in folic acid. Another vitamin, vitamin B12, is also the human body can not be synthesized, mainly by animal food supply, because adults have about 3-5 mg reserves, the human body needs only 1-2 micrograms per day, so the human body reserves of this vitamin can be maintained for several years. A vegetarian who does not even eat or drink eggs and milk will be malnourished with anemia after a few years. One type of anemia is microcytic (iron deficiency anemia) and one type of macrocytic (vitamin deficiency), and if you still insist on a vegetarian diet, you are typically materialistic.