Does vitamin C increase iron absorption?

There are some ideas that vitamin C increases iron absorption? So, in fact, how is the combination of these two substances related to each other?

Of the 13 essential vitamins and minerals the body needs, vitamin C is always the one that gets the most attention. Most of us understand vitamin C as an acidic substance commonly found in vegetables and fruits. When supplementing with vitamin C, our body will have enough health to fight harmful invaders to health. Often, vitamin C is used in medicine under the chemical names ascorbic acid, ascorbyl palmitate, calcium ascorbate or sodium ascorbate. Although there are many different names, but all are understood as vitamin C. You can refer to easily find this ingredient in different products.
As an antioxidant, vitamin C always needs to be supplemented. When your body absorbs enough vitamin C, the skin will be strong, shiny and smooth, and at the same time, the immune system in the body is enhanced to help bacteria and viruses cannot invade and cause harm. In addition, the presence of vitamin C also supports the promotion of metabolism and creates a positive effect on the brain.
Supplementing with vitamin C to increase iron absorption is an issue that many researchers are interested in and include in scientific topics. The presence of iron in the body has an important role to provide oxygen to the organs in the body. Therefore, iron deficiency will affect and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, when the body is absorbed enough iron, all metabolic processes also take place more smoothly.

Theoretically, iron is absorbed by the body from food through the intestinal lining. At this time, the body will receive iron from 2 main groups: iron of animal origin and iron of plant origin. These are 2 separate iron groups and have different functional abilities but the same purpose is to reduce the risk of iron deficiency for the body.
Iron from animals With iron from animals, they are derived from hemoglobin and myoglobin. This type of iron is absorbed by the body, but suffers from many bad effects by other food groups you accidentally use with meals.
Iron from Plants Most of our diets provide iron from plants. This is something that vegetarians are very interested in and use because the interactions between this substance and other foods are always harmonious and rarely antagonistic. Vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid will help the body increase the absorption of iron from plants and cause a reverse reaction inhibiting some foods such as tea, calcium and phosphate. This problem tends to decrease sharply when the source of iron is from animals such as meat, fish, and poultry. When our body absorbs iron from green vegetables, the amount of ascorbic acid will increase according to the amount provided by the body.
One food safety issue you should be concerned about is the presence of iron oxides and iron hydroxides. These are insoluble compounds of iron that will interfere with the body's absorption of iron. As for ascorbic acid, it forms chelate and ferric iron with acidic pH and is soluble with alkaline pH in the duodenum. However, this study has not been completely completed due to various factors. Therefore, we are only initially understanding that there is a positive interaction between vitamin C and iron with the health of the body.

Several studies have demonstrated that vitamins increase iron absorption through the use of foods of plant origin. This is a group of foods we often use every day, especially green vegetables and fruits, so their absorption is also easier.
You can eat citrus fruits, tangerines or grapefruit to supplement the amount of vitamin C that the body needs. In addition, strawberries, sweet bell peppers with red color are also very rich in nutrients, especially good for vitamin C supplements. Besides, you should eat dark leafy green vegetables to supplement fiber and increase the amount of vitamin C for the body every day.
Juice, especially orange juice, can boost the immune system while promoting the body's easier absorption of iron. For vegetarians, vegan foods need to be considered to ensure the daily amount of iron and vitamin C for the body to use.

With such an important role in all bodily functions, sometimes we mistakenly think that the more we add, the better. This is a wrong view because when our body has an excess of a certain substance, a chemical reaction will take place, creating conditions for dangerous diseases to multiply. Here are the criteria for iron and vitamin C supplements for your reference.
Need for vitamin C for the body:
Infants under 6 months of age need to provide 40 mg of vitamin C per day; Children 7 months to 1 year old need 50 mg of vitamin C per day; Children aged 1 to 3 years need 15 mg of vitamin C per day; Children aged 4 to 8 years need 25 mg of vitamin C per day; Children between the ages of 9 and 13 need 45 mg of vitamin C per day; Adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 need 65 - 75 mg of vitamin C per day by sex; Adults over 19 years of age need 75 to 90 mg of vitamin C per day by sex; Pregnant women: From 14 to 18 years old need to provide 80 mg of vitamin C, over 19 years old need to provide 85 mg of vitamin C per day; Women who are breastfeeding: From 14 to 18 years old need to provide 115 mg of vitamin C, over 19 years old need to provide 120 mg of vitamin C per day; Active or passive smokers should consume more vitamin C than non-smokers 35 mg per day. Iron requirements for the body:
Infants under 6 months of age need to provide 0.27 mg of iron per day; Children 7 months to 1 year old need 11 mg of iron per day; Children aged 1 to 3 years need 7 mg of iron per day; Children aged 4 to 8 years need 10 mg of iron per day; Children between the ages of 9 and 13 need 8 mg of iron per day; Adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 need 11 to 15 mg of iron per day by sex; Adults 19 to 50 years of age need 8 to 18 mg of iron per day by sex; Elderly people over 51 need to provide 8 mg of iron per day; Pregnant women need 27 mg of vitamin C per day; Women who are breastfeeding: from 14 to 18 years old need to provide 10 mg of iron, over 19 years old need to provide 9 mg of iron per day.

To date, vitamin C supplementation to increase iron absorption is not fully documented. However, that does not mean that we should deny that vitamin C helps the body avoid the risk of iron deficiency anemia.
Several correlational studies have partially linked vitamin C supplementation to increased iron absorption. This process is thought to be that the presence of vitamin C increases the acidity of the stomach, making it easier to react with iron.

References: healthline.com, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, foodinsight.org