🧪 Iron

Iron is a mineral the body needs to make red blood cells. These cells carry oxygen all around the body. If you do not get enough iron, you can develop iron-deficiency anaemia. You then tire more quickly and lack energy.

Milk is a poor source of iron. This is true of the milk of almost all animals. Nature arranged it so that a newborn has a store of iron in its body, while milk gives it other things: protein, fat, calcium. Milk contains a protein called lactoferrin that binds iron tightly. There is most of it in breast milk and colostrum. According to several studies, camel milk has a little more iron than cow's milk, but still not much.

Milk or red meat for iron? The milk of almost all animals is poor in iron, whereas the NHS lists liver, red meat, pulses such as beans and chickpeas, nuts, dried fruit and fortified cereals as good sources. Breast milk is no exception: it holds the most lactoferrin, a protein that binds iron tightly, and a newborn arrives with its own store of iron. Camel milk has a little more iron than cow’s milk in several studies, but still not much. So milk is a good part of a diet, but iron has to come from other foods.

On a pack, iron appears in the nutrition information as “iron”, normally in milligrams; plain milk is not a meaningful source, so do not look for it there. Cereals that have iron added say “fortified” on the pack. For the foods the NHS recommends, look in the butcher’s counter for liver and red meat, in the dried goods aisle for beans, chickpeas, nuts and dried fruit, and in the cereal aisle of a supermarket for fortified products.

The NHS says men need about 8.7 mg of iron a day, and women aged 19 to 49 about 14.8 mg. Good sources are liver, red meat, pulses (beans, chickpeas), nuts, dried fruit and fortified cereals. So milk is a good part of a diet, but you need to look for iron in other foods.