Can licking an iron bar get you the daily recommended amount of iron?

R5v5n1nt@lemmy.world to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world – 172 points –

How many licks would it take? Can the iron in bars even be processed by the body? Can you do this for other minerals?

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Cooking in a cast iron pan adds more iron to your diet

https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/healthy-tips/how-much-iron-do-i-get-from-a-cast-iron-skillet

A little cat iron puck was introduced in an Asian region with high iron-deficiecy in the poorer population, but nobody used it. So they did some research and changed it to resemble a fish instead and it took right off. Turns out the local culture considered fish lucky or something.

I actually teach my students about this strategy that the WHO employee in Micronesia in my sport nutrition class. It's less about the iron fish, and more about that dietary iron can come from cast iron cooking sources instead of supplementation (as the latter often causes digestive distress).