Availability of food iron.

Iron has been extracted from 25 common foods under conditions resembling those prevailing in the stomach under physiological conditions. In most cases less than half the iron in the foods is released into solution. The soluble iron is mainly in ionizable form, except in the case of meat products and black pudding. The amount of food iron released is influenced by cooking and the presence of iron-binding substances in some foods. The total dietary iron probably does not represent the amount available for absorption.