The short answer
Black tea, green tea and matcha block plant and supplement iron. Drink tea 1 hour before or 2 hours after a plant-iron meal, and matcha at least 3 to 4 hours before one. Chamomile and other mild herbal teas are fine.
| Drink | Around a plant-iron meal |
|---|---|
| Black tea | 1 h before or 2 h after |
| Green tea | 1 h before or 2 h after |
| Matcha | At least 3 to 4 h before |
| Hibiscus and other dark, astringent teas | Treat like black tea |
| Chamomile, linden blossom | Fine with meals |
Drink matcha at least 3 to 4 hours before a plant-iron meal.
Have matcha straight after eating. It keeps blocking for longer than coffee.
Tea's polyphenols bind non-heme iron in the gut, and black tea is one of the strongest blockers studied. Matcha is the whole ground leaf, so a cup carries a lot of them. Heme iron is barely affected, so tea after a meat or fish meal matters less.
Borrow the English habit of afternoon tea. Three or four o'clock is far from both iron meals.
Once your ferritin is in the goal range, you can relax the timing a little. Until then, every gap counts.
Questions
Is green tea better than black for iron?
Both block plant iron. Green tea is not a safe exception, and matcha, being whole leaf, is stronger.
Do herbal teas block iron?
Mild ones like chamomile and linden blossom are fine. Dark, astringent ones like hibiscus behave more like black tea.
Sources
- 1.Hurrell R.F., Reddy M., Cook J.D. Inhibition of non-haem iron absorption in man by polyphenolic-containing beverages. British Journal of Nutrition, 1999
- 2.The Iron Guide, part 4: Food that counts
This page has not been reviewed by a clinician yet. Read it as general education, and take your own results to your doctor.
Educational, not medical advice. ferritin.ai does not diagnose or treat any condition, and it never sets a dose. Talk to your doctor about your own results.