Could Taking Iron Help Cure Your Cough?

If you're plagued by a pesky cough, ask your doctor to check your iron levels. Research presented last fall at a meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians suggests that iron deficiency may help explain why some otherwise healthy, nonsmoking women have persistent coughs.

The study followed 16 women who had chronic cough and a mild deficiency of iron, a mineral that transports oxygen and helps regulate inflammatory responses. "We examined the women before and after three to four months of iron supplementation [according to level of deficiency]," says Caterina Bucca, M.D., of the University of Turin. "After iron supplementation, coughs and signs of laryngitis improved or resolved in most of the women."

Women are more likely than men to suffer unexplained coughs. They're also more likely to have insufficient iron stores because they lose the mineral through menstruation. Bucca says she just put the two together. More research is needed to pinpoint the exact relationship, but Bucca suspects that iron deficiency damages the tissues that line the mouth and nose, back of the throat and trachea, making them more vulnerable to irritants and more prone to inflammation.

To meet your needs for iron without going overboard, follow these five tips:

Know where to find it. Good food sources of iron include lean beef and poultry, leafy greens, beans and lentils and fortified cereals. Our bodies are better at absorbing iron from animal-based sources (e.g., meats) than from plant-based sources (beans and greens).

Add some C. Consuming vitamin C with iron-rich foods increases absorption of the mineral. Get more iron out of plant sources, such as green beans, artichokes, kidney beans or iron-fortified cereals, by consuming them with vitamin C-rich foods, such as citrus fruits, broccoli, strawberries or bell peppers. Eating vitamin-C rich foods with meats can also help you to absorb more of the mineral.

Be aware of iron blockers. Some foods—including tea, egg yolks, milk and soy—contain compounds that limit the absorption of iron. Try to avoid eating these foods at the same time as iron-rich sources. And if you take both a multivitamin/mineral and a calcium supplement, have them at different times. Calcium can interfere with absorption of the iron from your multi.

Be a cast-iron chef. Food cooked in a cast-iron skillet will have more iron—sometimes up to 20 times as much—as food prepared in another type of pan. This is especially true for acidic foods like tomatoes.

Iron out changes in recommended intakes. After menopause, women need only 8 mg of iron each day (same as what men need). That's less than half of the recommended intake for women of child-bearing age (18 mg) and less than a third of what pregnant women need (27 mg). Too much iron can be harmful particularly for people who have hemochromatosis, a genetic condition that causes a buildup of iron in the body's organs. If you're no longer menstruating, you don't need to scale back on healthy iron-rich foods but if you're taking a multivitamin that includes iron, check to see that it doesn't exceed your recommended 8 mg.

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