Does Soy Protein Interfere with Iron Absorption?

 

The body absorbs only a limited amount of iron from foods and supplements. We absorb a higher percentage of heme iron, found in meat proteins, than we do nonheme iron, found in plant-based foods, and a variety of food components, including phytates and proteins found in soy, may inhibit nonheme iron absorption. If you have iron deficiency or are at high risk of developing iron deficiency, you should avoid eating nonheme iron sources with soy protein.

Phytate

In a 1992 study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," Swiss researchers found that human subjects absorbed significantly more iron from soy protein when the phytic acid content of the protein was reduced to less than 0.01 mg/g. Even after all phytic acid was removed, however, subjects still absorbed less iron from soy protein than from egg white. The researchers concluded that other factors in addition to phytate contribute to poor bioavailability of iron from soy protein.

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