Iron and Calcium

I know you're not supposed to take Iron and Calcium at the same time because they will bind together and not be absorbed.  But, how long should I wait in between taking Calcium and Iron? 

And is this true of foods with calcium too?  i.e.   Should I wait to have any dairy products after I take my Iron supplement?

Just curious!  I went to my three week post-op appointment today and I'm to begin my vitamin and mineral supplements today.  I have received a lot of free samples from different companies (YEAH!) and I did order some of the lemon calcium chews from Celebrate... they are YUM YUM!  

Oh, and I get to go back to work today... oh FUN!  

It isn't that they will bind together -- it is that iron and calcium use the same binding receptor sites and the iron will get shoved out of the way.

Think of a puzzle piece.  Both the iron and calcium have the same end for the puzzle, but the iron is a smaller piece and the calcium is a bigger piece.  Because the calcium is bigger, it's gonna shove the iron out of the way, keeping the iron from being able to attach to the puzzle and thus "attach."  Does that help?


And yes, it is the same with calcium-rich foods.  The cut off is 300mgs of calcium for ionic, or chemical iron.  You can tell how much calcium a food has by looking at the label and adding a 0 to the percentage.  So if something gives a 20% of calcium, then it has 200mg of calcium per serving, so would be safe to have with iron.

Now, if you decided to take a heme iron (Proferrin), then the threshold doubles to 600mg of calcium.  But it's more expensive and generally special order.

Thanks... I guess my real question is... how long do I wait between taking iron and calcium?

Sorry.  Too much info and I forgot the main piece.

At minimum, 2 hours.


There is question as to whether this is enough time -- there have been some studies that show that people with lower gastric pH levels need longer for calcium absorption -- but I know how hard it is to actually get everything in, so I keep with the 2 hour rule unless you have the time to play with.

Thanks!  I know I have a habit of rambling... I got way off track in my post!  LOL  I'm going nuts from being home for three weeks!  Guess I'm ready to go to work! 

What Andrea said....and I've heard that you need to wait for at least an hour, but that advise was for DSers, I'm not sure how that relates to RNY's. I usually wait for at leat two hours and I eat something in between.

Kerry

The typical advice is two hours, and that is for everyone, DS, RNY, no WLS.

Kelly