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Vitamin C Fruit
In plain words
The short version
Citrus, berries and peppers: their vitamin C increases iron absorption rather than blocking it, as meat and fish also do.
Why it's green
It's widely considered safe at the amounts used in food, so we mark it green. The Safety section below has the details.
Safety profile
Vitamin C reduces iron to the form the gut absorbs and holds it in solution, undoing a good part of what phytates and tea tannins do. The effect is one of the strongest in food-nutrient interaction, and it works within the same meal.
The detail
Foods naturally high in vitamin C. The same compound the catalog knows as ascorbic acid (E300) when added rather than grown.
Orange juice with a fortified cereal, or lemon over lentils, is the effect at work — this is why those pairings are traditional in the first place.
Sources
- EFSA NDA Panel — Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of a health claim related to vitamin C and increasing non haem iron absorption pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 (EFSA Journal 2014;12(1):3514) — European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), 2014. vitamin C increases non-haem iron absorption
- EFSA NDA Panel — Scientific opinion on the tolerable upper intake level for iron (EFSA Journal 2024;22:e8819) — European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), 2024. vitamin C reduces iron to the ferrous form; meat is also an enhancer
Checked against these sources on .
Educational information only. Not medical, dietary or veterinary advice. Spotted an error? Tell us.