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To be completely honest, I get my iron from a fortified cereal. I don’t really like taking supplements and I’m a vegetarian. Meats are good for iron but doctor’s recommendations are usually about 3 servings a week so I find very few sources of iron and practical in all health senses.
I heard that metallic iron isn’t actually easily absorbed by the body so even if you were getting iron from cooking food in the pan it won’t actually benefit you much at all. Also, many foods fortified with iron often use metallic iron (eg. Cereal) since it is cheaper so I wouldn’t rely on them either unless you can verify what sort of iron it is (avoid cheap ones basically). Even iron found in vegetables isn’t really that bioavailable, but apparently vitamin c can increase its bioavailability. The most bioavailable iron is heme iron which is found in meat and seafood.
I’m not really sure, but I have tried dozens of iron supplements and the only one that seems to work without side effects for me is blood builder. If you’re willing to try another I highly recommend it.
Here is an article on the ‘Lucky Iron Fish’ which is to be added to a cooking pot increase iron levels in developing countries.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28049274/
Based on that I’d say you can get iron from a pan.
Yes over time is how I understand it. That pans “broken in” and used daily provide iron. Not like the instant effects of a supplement but how milk drinkers over their life have stronger bones to battle brittleness. A cast iron pan would be like an investment for you I would think. They do have specific care for use, however, that would need to be a daily part of your routine.
I don’t know about cast iron, but maybe check out iron gluconate supplement, I tried different ones and they all feel so heavy on my stomach, but with iron gluconate I have no side effects! I rarely take it now though, try to eat lots of iron rich foods, and eat them with something that contains vitamin C, so fresh fruit and veg. Also avoid eating calcium rich foods with iron rich foods, and avoid drinking tea/coffee with your meals.
Only if you eat it. The amount of iron that would be ingested from cooking acidic foods in a cast iron pan is going to be beyond negligible, if it even exists at all.
If you struggle to keep your iron up without supplements, why not use supplements? Licking the proverbial bumper is really not going to be very efficient.
think about the weight of the pan in relation to a target of 60 mg per day daily iron intake. i say 60 mg because that’s about the weight of a grain of salt. now, back to your pan. do you think you’re chipping/scraping 60 mg of iron off that pan?
I have been taking iron bisglycinate by Thorne for a little over a year. It’s given me no stomach problems, which I am prone to. Both my ferritin and total iron have gone up. I hope you can find something that works for you!
Make sure you don’t eat your iron too close to caffeine or other absorption blockers. Lots of people eat enough iron but block it’s absorption. There are other factors too. A quick google will tell you all the things you should avoid near your iron meal