Are 'Iron Fortified' Breakfast Cereals Vegetarian ?

Mick Rice · 18-06-2010 11:35AM #1

I'm a runner who normally hangs around the Athletics/Running/Triathlon forums, and am also vegetarian. I train fairly hard and compete seriously and so my blood iron level is always a concern. I'm a fairly new 'convert' (2 years) and was taking an iron supplement for quite a while before I realised that it wasn't actually vegetarian (ferrograd c). I eventually found a vegetarian friendly supplement (ferrous fumerate I think), but that put me thinking about my other iron sources and cereals in particular. everywhere I look for list of good dietary sources of iron I see that the list includes 'fortified breakfast cereals' and I suppose my question is about whether the iron with which these cereals are fortified is vegetarian or not.

Any ideas ?

sweet-rasmus · 18-06-2010 02:05PM

hi, the general issue with the supplements was that the capsule itself was not vegetarian as it was most likely made from gelatin. most breakfast cereals are fine; there are very few that contain gelatin (some frosted or different coloured cereals). it's highly unlikely, but if you don't see gelatin on the list, it's probably fine.

entropi · 18-06-2010 04:31PM

The better cereals to use as fortified ones would be ones without added sugars etc, the likes of cornflakes, rice krispies, cheerios.

Although as a hurler and runner myself, I would recommend having weetabix if looking for complex carbohydrate with a decent amount of iron to boot.

Tar.Aldarion · 18-06-2010 04:54PM

They are vegetarian Mick.

Mick Rice · 18-06-2010 04:56PM

Thanks all - the guidance is much appreciated !

Tar.Aldarion · 18-06-2010 04:57PM

Happy to help with any questions etc

henryporter · 21-06-2010 07:11PM

You could try Spatone which is Vegetarian Society approved iron supplement - it comes in liquid form which you can drink with juice or water. It's pricey in Ireland though so best to get it direct from their website www.spatone.com (about £6 for 28 day box as opposed to €12 here)

Aoifums · 23-06-2010 10:27PM

Jesus! This gave me such a fright when I read it. But nope, I can happily tuck into my Coco Pops

Are 'Iron Fortified' Breakfast Cereals Vegetarian ?

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