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Iron Deficiency:
The most common US Nutritional Deficiency
Iron has many important functions in the body, but its main job is to deliver oxygen in the form of hemoglobin to cells where it is used to produce energy.1,2,3,4,5 Although iron is widely available in the food supply, it is consumed in less than adequate amounts by significant segments of the population.
In fact, iron deficiency is the most common U.S. nutritional deficiency.6 Research shows that even a mild, short-term deficiency can impair the ability to perform at peak efficiency.6,7,8 Because of this, the Arizona Beef Council and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) actively support the federal government's "Healthy People 2010" national health objectives of increasing iron intake.
Iron deficiency affects 7.8 million adolescent girls and women of childbearing age, and 700,000 children 1 to 2 years of age.6
Ninety percent of iron in the food supply is nonheme iron; the remaining 10 percent is heme. Heme iron, found only in beef and other animal products, is seven times more absorbable than nonheme iron found in plant-based foods. What's more, the absorption of nonheme iron increases two- to four-fold when meat is consumed in the same meal.9
To obtain the same amount of iron found in a three-ounce serving of beef, you'd need to eat at least 3 cups of spinach.9
Foods in the Meat Group contain a mix of heme and nonheme iron. Heme iron in cooked red meat can be as high as 70 percent; white meat has less than 25 percent.10 To obtain the same amount of iron found in a three-ounce serving of beef, you'd need to eat at least three three-ounce chicken breasts.9
Iron deficiency causes developmental problems and behavioral disturbances in children, and increases the risk for pre-term and low birth-weight deliveries in pregnant women according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).1-7,10,11
Left unchecked, iron deficiency can lead to anemia; symptoms associated with moderate to severe anemia include weakness, fatigue, headache, drowsiness, irritability and reduced capacity for work.1-7,10,12,13
1. National Research Council. Recommended Dietary Allowances, 10th edition. National Academy Press, Washington DC: 1989.
2. Ziegler EE, Filer LJ. Present knowledge in nutrition, 7th edition. ILSI Press, Washington, DC: 1996.
3. Stryer L. Biochemistry, 4th edition. WH Freeman and Company, New York: 1998
4. Williams MH. Nutrition for fitness and sport, 2nd edition. Wm. C. Brown Publishers, Iowa: 1983.
5. Fairbanks VF, Beutler E. Iron deficiency. In: Beutler E, Lichtman MA, Coller BS, Kipps TJ, eds. Williams Hematology. 5th ed. McGraw Hill; New York: 490-511, 1995.
6. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers For Disease Control. Recommendations to prevent and control iron deficiency in the United States. 47:No. RR-3, April 3, 1998.
7. Cook JD, Lynch SR. The liabilities of iron deficiency. Blood. 68:803-809, 1986.
8. Gardner GW, Edgarton VR, Senewirathne B, et al. Physical work capacity and metabolic stress in subjects with iron deficiency anemia. Am J Clin Nutr. 53:255-260, 1995.
9. USDA, ARS. USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 13. 1999. (Data for beef based on 3-oz. serving, round, top round, separable lean only, ¼" trim, all grades, cooked, broiled. Data for chicken based on 3-oz serving chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted. Data for spinach based on 1-cup spinach, raw).
10. National Live Stock and Meat Board. Dietary Iron - Sources and Availability, In: Facts From The Meat Board. Chicago, IL. National Live Stock and Meat Board; 1994; Series No. FS/N 006.
11. Wachs T, Bishy Z, Moussa W, et al. Nutritional intake and context as predictors of cognition and adaptive behaviors of Egyptian school-age children. Intern J Behav Devel. 18: 425-450, 1995.
12. Worthington-Roberts BS, Breskin MW, Monsen ER. Iron status of premenopausal women in a university community and its relationship to habitual dietary sources of protein. Am J Clin Nutr. 47:275-279, 1988.
13. Yokoi K, Alcock NW, Sandstead HH. Iron and zinc nutriture or premenopausal women: associations of diet with serum ferritin and plasma zinc disappearance. J Lab Clin Med. 124:852-856, 1994.
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