The Different forms of Iron
There are two forms of bio-available Iron
Natural Organic Heme Iron
Iron bound to natural hemoglobin or myoglobin
Synthetic iron from chemical
supplements plants and dairy
and otherwise chemically bond synthetic iron
Fe++
Fe++
Organic Heme Iron vs Synthetic Iron
Fe++
Fe++
Intestine
Heme iron is easily
absorbed with 5-12 times
higher bio-availability
than synthetic iron.
Fe++
Fe++
Fe++
Fe++
Absorption 20 - 25 %
Fe++
Fe++
Fe++
Fe++
Intestine
Synthetic iron must be
dissolved before uptake
with low absorption and sideeffects due to reactive free
iron remaining in the gut.
Fe++
Fe++
Fe++
Fe++
Fe++
Fe++
Absorption 2 - 4 %
Efficient and Well Tolerated
•
•
•
•
Heme Iron highly efficient with low acid content in the stomach
Heme Iron uptake is great with Medications as antacids and PPI
Heme Iron will not irritate the gut as there is no reactive free iron
Heme Iron will not cause oxidative stress in the body system.
Absorption (typical)
Side-effects (typical)
20-30%
20-25%
2-4%
2-4%
Heme Iron
Synthetic iron
Equal to
Placebo
Heme Iron
Synthetic iron
FerroCare
Organic Iron
• 18 mg Heme Iron, Fe++
• Iron integrated hemoglobin
• Dosage 1 tablet/day
Synthetic
Iron tablet
• 100 mg synthetic iron, Fe++
• Ferrous fumarate, sulphate
• Dosage 1 tablet/day
18 mg Heme Iron 20 - 25% uptake 100 mg synthetic iron 2 - 4% uptake
4.0 mg Fe++ absorbed equals to
3.0 mg Fe++ absorbed equals to
4.0 mg Bio-Available Iron
3.0 mg Bio-Available Iron