The importance of the proportion of heme nonheme iron in the diet to minimize the interference with calcium, phosphorus, magnesium metabolism oil recovery from nutritional ferropenic anemia

The digestive utilization of Fe and its nutritive interaction with Ca, P, a nd Mg were studied in rats with nutritional ferropenic anemia. The diet con tained 80% ferric citrate and 20% heme iron (80/20 diet). The weight gain, digestive utilization of Fe, and regeneration efficiency of hemoglobin and seric Fe were higher in iron-deficient rats (ID) fed the 80/20 diet than in iron-deficient rats fed the 50/50 diet (Campos et al., 1996). The phospho- calcic metabolism, which is adversely affected in ferropenic anemia, return ed to normal values when iron was added to the diet. The digestive utilizat ion of Mg, which fell with the 50/50 diet (Campos et al., 1996), returned t o normal values when the ferropenic anemia was reversed with the 80/20 diet . In a state of iron deficiency, certain parameters related to the glucose and lipid metabolism are affected; the glucose and triglycerides values ret urn to a normal range with the 80/20 diet.