Why is this so hard? Isn’t my body supposed to be built for this?

Women have survived for thousands of years carrying pregnancies, raising children, working, and leading societies. Yet, here I was, exhausted, falling apart, and feeling like my body and my brain was failing at the very thing they were designed to do.

In growing frustration, the same questions kept swirling in my mind: What’s so different about how I’m surviving today compared to the women who came before me?

I had my suspicions. Iron. Again. As always. But wasn’t my body supposed to handle this?

Our ancestors didn’t track their iron intake. They didn’t count milligrams, monitor symptoms, or get blood tests. They got enough iron without even trying.

So what changed?

Hint: It’s not you. It’s not your fault.

That’s exactly what I’m looking at in this issue: How well-intentioned, society-changing innovations fundamentally altered how we get iron in ways we never anticipated.

The way we get iron today looks nothing like it did in the past.

For most of history, iron wasn’t something to think about. It was simply there, in the food they ate.

But over the past 150 years or so, fundamental shifts in how food is grown, processed, and fortified have quietly reshaped our relationship with this essential nutrient.

How Industrialized Food Processing Stripped Iron from Our Diets

Before food was mass-produced, iron-rich foods were a natural part of the human diet.

Historically, no part of an animal was wasted. Organ meats (liver, heart, kidney) were some of the most prized foods consumed regularly across cultures because they were recognized as nutrient powerhouses¹ .

For many coastal and river-based communities, shellfish were a major dietary staple. Oysters, mussels, and clams² contain more heme iron per serving than beef. Shellfish also provide zinc, B12, and copper, which work synergistically to enhance iron metabolism. Unlike many modern seafood sources, wild shellfish were naturally richer in minerals due to the nutrient-dense waters they were harvested from.

Wild plants and whole grains were grown in mineral-rich soil. Whole grains retained their iron-rich bran and germ layers (unlike modern refined grains). Fermentation³ and sprouting techniques⁴ (common before industrialized food production) naturally reduced phytates, which inhibit iron absorption.

In truth, a woman eating a traditional meal of wild-caught fish, whole grains, and fermented vegetables in 1800 would get far more iron than someone today eating a processed diet with fortified cereal and conventionally raised meat.

And what happened to get us to today? Here are a few factors:

The Milling of Grains: How White Flour Lost Its Iron

White flour, white rice, and processed grains (what we call refined grains) are stripped of their iron-rich bran and germ.

The transition to refined grains happened primarily due to longer shelf life, improved texture, and consumer preference, alongside advancements in industrial milling technology that made refined grains cheaper and easier to produce at scale.

For most of human history, whole grains contained natural iron. But when white flour became the norm, that changed.

• Traditional stone-milled grains (pre-1900s) preserved the iron-rich bran and germ layers.

• Industrial roller mills (late 1800s–early 1900s) stripped away these layers to produce softer, whiter flour.

• The result? Up to two-thirds of the natural iron content was lost.

Even though governments later fortified grains with synthetic iron (starting in the 1940s) to fix this problem, the added iron isn't as well absorbed as the iron that was originally there.

Factory-Farmed Meat: Why It’s Lower in Iron Than Before

Industrially raised beef, pork, and chicken contain significantly lower iron levels than wild-caught or pasture-raised animals.

Theories as to why this is the case include changes in diet, lifestyle, health, and stress levels of the animals. Factory-farmed animals are typically fed a diet primarily consisting of corn and soy, which may lack the diverse nutrients found in the natural diets of wild or pasture-raised animals.

Healthy animals tend to have better iron absorption and utilization. The crowded and stressful conditions in factory farms can compromise animal health and potentially affect iron levels in the meat. For example, stress can lead to increased cortisol levels, which may interfere with iron metabolism.

It’s difficult to identify a single cause, but research so far consistently shows that factory-farmed meat contains less iron than meat from pasture-raised animals.

Ultra-Processed Foods Contain Iron Inhibitors

Many packaged foods contain calcium, soy, or additives that compete with iron for absorption.

The rise of packaged, ultra-processed foods hasn’t just replaced natural iron-rich foods. It’s also introduced compounds that actively block iron absorption.

• Preservatives & food additives (like phosphates) interfere with iron metabolism.

• High-calcium processed foods (like fortified dairy alternatives and protein bars) compete with iron for absorption.

• Soy-based additives (like soy protein isolate) contain phytates, which reduce the body's ability to absorb non-heme iron.

How Industrialized Agriculture and Soil Depletion Reduced Iron in Food

Before industrialized farming, plants naturally absorbed high levels of minerals, including iron, from nutrient-rich soil. Modern farming methods have stripped soil of these nutrients.

Why?

• Overuse of soil through monocropping (growing the same crops year after year) depletes its natural mineral content.

• Synthetic fertilizers replace nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, but not iron or other trace minerals.

• Pesticides and herbicides disrupt soil microbiomes, reducing nutrient absorption in plants.

As a result, fruits and vegetables today contain significantly less iron than they did 50-100 years ago.

Modern food systems have made iron harder to get, but you don’t need to overhaul your diet. Simply thinking about where your food comes from can help.

In making small, intentional choices at the grocery store, you can boost iron intake and absorption without changing what you eat.

Here are practical ways get more iron in your normal diet and maximize absorption:

1. Choose Whole, Unprocessed Foods: Opt for sourdough bread, sprouted grains, and fermented foods. Select grass-fed meats and wild-caught seafood instead of factory-farmed options for higher iron content.

2. Incorporate Iron Powerhouses into Your Diet: Include organ meats (like liver, heart, and kidney). They’re some of the richest natural sources of iron. If that doesn’t strike your fancy (and I commiserate), eat shellfish (like oysters, mussels, and clams) since they contain more heme iron than beef.

3. Reduce Iron Blockers in Processed Foods: Be mindful of calcium-fortified processed foods (like plant-based milks and protein bars) when eating iron-rich meals, as calcium competes with iron for absorption. Avoid ultra-processed foods with preservatives, phosphates, and soy-based additives, which can interfere with iron metabolism.

4. Enhance Iron Absorption with Smart Food Pairings: Pair iron-rich plant foods (like lentils, beans, and spinach) with vitamin C sources (lemon juice, peppers, or citrus) to boost absorption. If eating whole grains, choose sprouted or fermented versions to reduce phytates, which block iron absorption.

5. Prioritize Foods Grown in Mineral-Rich Soil: Buy organic or regeneratively farmed produce when possible. These tend to have higher mineral content. Support local farms that use crop rotation and natural soil-enriching methods.

6. Cook with Cast Iron Cookware: Cooking acidic foods (like tomatoes) in a cast iron pan can increase the iron content of your meals naturally.

These small but impactful shifts can help improve your iron intake, without obsessing over numbers or supplements.

🌍 It’s not our fault that we’re eating less iron today. It’s an entire system of things. Prioritize whole, unprocessed foods from quality sources to restore lost iron and avoid modern additives that block absorption.

💬 What surprised you most about how modern food processing affects iron levels? Do you already make any of these swaps—like choosing sprouted grains, grass-fed meats, or wild-caught seafood? What’s been your experience?

1  Liver is one of the most concentrated sources of heme iron. Heart and kidneys also contain high levels of iron, vitamin B12, and other critical blood-building nutrients.

2  Certain types of clams (100g) can contain over 25mg of iron—more than 130% of the daily recommended intake for women!

3  Traditional sourdough fermentation, for example, significantly reduces phytates, allowing for higher iron (as well as magnesium and phosphorus) bioavailability compared to mass-produced breads.

4  To find these products, look for terms like “sprouted,” “germinated,” or “activated” on the ingredient list of front label.

5  1997 was arguably a long time ago (28 years!), but this is the latest reliable data that I could find (🫠). For the moment, we can only make educated predictions on whether this state of affairs has improved or worsened.