Ok so, to my knowledge, plants contain non-heme iron, which is hard for the body to absorb. However, vit c helps with the absorption (some say, the combination makes for even better absorption than heme iron) so I was thinking about kale because its a major part a my daily diet, and I thought great, it has both vit c and iron!.until I later read that calcium (which kale is loaded with) can interfere with the absorption of non-heme iron so would the calcium void the benefits from the vit c/iron combo?
Basically none heme 3+ charge, heme iron 2+ charge. When a weak acid such as vitamin C is added, it can reduce the iron making it gain an electron which brings it to the 2+ state the more absorbable form. Heme and nonheme iron: How much iron is absorbed depends in part on its source. Iron occurs in two forms in foods, heme and nonheme. Heme iron is found only in foods derived from the flesh of animals, such as meats, poultry and fish. Nonheme iron is found in both plant and animal foods. Heme iron is so well absorbed that it contributes significant iron to the body. It is absorbed at a relatively constant rate of about 23%. The rates of absorption of nonheme iron are lower, ranging from 2 to 20%, and are strongly influenced by dietary factors and body iron stores. People with severe iron deficiencies absorb heme and nonheme iron more efficiently and are more sensitive to dietary enhancing factors than people with better iron status. Some dietary factors bind with nonheme iron, inhibiting absorption. These include the phytates and fibers in whole grain cereals and nuts, the calcium and phosphorus in milk and supplements, the EDTA in food additives, and tannic acid. Tannic acid is present in tea, coffee, nuts and some fruits and vegetables. Recent studies reveal that soy may inhibit iron absorption
any box home improvement store will have a small variety of copper piping
According to the AJCN, it does. They recommend you wait two hours after eating an iron rich meal to eat a high calcium food. See link. Good catch on your part, BTW. That's something most of us never think about.
Have you ever BEEN in a hardware store? There is copper tubing for PLUMBING. It's measured by the inside diameter (I.D.) There is soft copper tubing (bendable) which comes in long rolls, and there is rigid plumbing tubing (not bendable), which comes in lengths (like 10 ft.) There is type M, type L and type K. M is typical home plumbing, has the thinnest wall size. K is the thickest wall size, typical for burial. There is copper tubing for REFRIGERATION. It is measured by the outside diameter (O.D.) There is soft copper tubing (bendable) which comes in long rolls, and there is rigid refrigeration tubing, with various wall thicknesses. Old solder for plumbing was tin-lead alloy, which is generally avoided nowadays due to the toxicity of the lead. Modern solder for plumbing is tin-antimony alloy, which should be used. For refrigeration, silver solder or sil-phos (silver-phosphorus alloy) is used. It's much stronger than plumbing solder.
