Angel 💫🦋

I got to teach a patient about this today, so a reminder it's TRUE that constantly drinking matcha can impact your iron levels. Polyphenols and catechins (extracted more in ground-up matcha than just steeped tea leaves) bind iron in your gut so it doesn't get absorbed properly! Studies have shown that drinking tea along with a meal can reduce iron absorption by almost 37% when compared to water. But waiting at least an hour after eating a meal/iron supplement, and then drinking your tea, cuts that reduction in half (Fuzi et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2017). Taking vitamin C along with your tea can also dampen the chelating effects of polyphenols (Kim et al., J Nutr 2011). Now for most people, this isn't a huge deal, but if you're a chronic matcha drinker, and your doctors have been working you up for iron deficiency anemia, or your iron labs never seem to improve despite taking the tablets, then this can be a really significant beverage/mealtime change with huge benefits.