Tea may inhibit the absorption of iron into the body, potentially leading to iron deficiency issues, according to recent research.

The tannins found in tea, while offering drinkers the advantage of their proven anti-oxidant properties, can act as chelators, binding to minerals and making it harder for them to be taken in by the body. However, scientists do not believe the problem is serious enough to cause significant deficiency problems for most tea drinkers in the western world as most people ake in more iron than they actually need.

One team measured the iron levels of subjects after they ate a meal of hamburger, mashed potato ad string bean and drank a variety of different beverages. Including a cup of tea with the meal caused a 62% decrease I the amount of iron absorbed. Coffee drinkers experienced a 35% reduction. But orange juice helped boost absorption by 85%. A further complicating factor is that the iron absorption from meat, fish and poultry (heme-iron) is unaffected by tea or coffee. Only the absorption of iron found in vegetables and grains (non-heme iron) is inhibited.