Which foods are high in iron, and what helps absorption?

High-iron foods are not exotic. Most of them are already on the ordinary Thai table. What actually changes the outcome is what sits next to them in the same meal.

Which Thai foods are high in iron?

From animal sources: pork blood, in boat noodles and tom lueat mu; pork and chicken liver; and red meat.

From plants: dark leafy greens such as spinach, ivy gourd leaves, morning glory and acacia shoots; dried beans and tofu; and black sesame.

What is the difference between haem and non-haem iron?

Iron from animal foods is called haem iron. Absorption is fairly steady and does not depend much on the rest of the meal.

Iron from plants is non-haem iron. Its absorption varies considerably with what is eaten alongside it. That variability is the part we can influence.

What happens when you add vitamin C?

The annex to Thai Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 447 (B.E. 2566) recognises the statement directly: vitamin C increases iron absorption.

In practice this means that when the iron in a meal comes mainly from plants, having a vitamin C-rich vegetable or fruit in the same meal is a sensible habit. Everyday examples: stir-fried morning glory with a squeeze of lime; tofu and vegetables followed by an orange or a guava; a bean salad with sweet pepper and tomato.

Why space out tea and coffee?

Tea and coffee contain compounds that interfere with the absorption of non-haem iron. If you usually drink them with meals, moving them to between meals is the simplest adjustment.

Milk and other high-calcium foods fall into the same group. This is not an argument against eating them together, only that separating them in time is easier than giving them up if you are deliberately trying to increase iron.

What does a sensible day look like?

Breakfast: rice porridge with pork, an egg and an orange, so the vitamin C is in the same meal.

Lunch: pork blood noodle soup, which is haem iron.

Dinner: stir-fried morning glory, tofu and a tomato salad, which is non-haem iron with vitamin C.

Coffee: between meals rather than with them.

This is an illustration, not a personalised meal plan.

So what should you actually change?

The iron sources are already in Thai cooking. What you can adjust without changing the menu is putting vitamin C in the same meal and moving tea and coffee away from it.

Dietary supplements are not intended to prevent, treat or cure any disease.