Clash of the Titans - Calcium vs Iron

This higher hemoglobin concentration as a result of an improved iron supply not only increases the oxygen-carrying capacity, but it also provides a buffer against the blood loss that will occur during delivery (Hallberg, 1988). Same as iron, Ca is one of the essential macronutrients and very much needed during pregnancy. Baby will use supplies to develop bones and a mother must carefully separate meals containing iron from meals containing calcium.

Calcium blocks iron absorption, so every meal containing calcium must be taken at least two hours before and two hours after a meal with iron. From the practice, we see that best results are gained if women choose one half of a day, for example, early morning till noon for iron supplementation and later afternoon and evening for calcium supplementation.

In many cultures, mistakes are made during food preparation, while mixing these two nutrients. For example, western culture prepares spinach with milk products (cheese, pies with spinach and cheese, etc) after which not much iron is absorbed despite our best will to take as much as we can of this precious food. Another example would be a very popular culture of shakes where we mix milk and protein products with spinach etc, once again destroying valuable nutrients.

It has been proved that ascorbic acid, vitamin C, increases iron absorption.

Therefore consuming supplements or raw ingredients rich in iron and C vitamin is the best way to raise its levels and eventually hemoglobin levels in our blood. A glass of lemonade with our meal or squeezed lemon juice over some spinach salat is one of the easiest ways to raise iron absorption. Below we can see a general list of iron absorption inhibitors:

1. coffee

2. cacao

3. tannic acid (form tea)

4. phytic acid

5. egg proteins

Besides calcium, other nutrients also tend to block iron absorption: zinc, phosphorus, as well as fiber.