Great post Manta!yep, that is what I understood to be true regarding iron stores. It is so much better to eat iron in it's natural state as opposed to via articial fortifications.
Excerpt from a Pharmacy website:
For reasons unclear to researchers, infants absorb 100% of the iron in breast milk (less than 1 mg/L), but cannot absorb all of the iron in infant formulas. Most infant formulas contain approximately 12 mg/L of iron, which usually allows for adequate iron uptake. However, some parents attribute symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, constipation, diarrhea, colic and irritability to iron intolerance. In response, manufacturers have marketed low-iron formulas containing only 2 mg/L of iron. The low-iron formulas may alleviate these symptoms, but they cannot maintain proper hemoglobin status and should be avoided.1,5 Iron deficiency can result in anorexia, failure to thrive, delayed development of the immune system, and impaired psychomotor and mental development.9
I figure that as long as I am maintaining my iron levels while BF then it will be transformed into enough iron for my babies.... in the most usable form. When introducing solids I would focus on offering them green vegetables (we don't eat red meat) to get that extra bit of iron... in it's natural state.
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