Heme/non-heme

There are two different types of iron.

The heme iron is present in the hemoglobin and myoglobin that is in blood. That is why heme iron is found in red meat where it represents approximately 40 % of total iron.

The non-heme iron is in every other food: vegetables, eggs and dairy products.

A classical omnivore diet provides approximately 15 % of heme iron while a vegetarian diet is 100 % non-heme iron.

The iron found in the vegetable world is not as well absorbed as heme iron. That is why we keep saying that the vegetarians are at risks of deficiencies.