Abstract: An improved dietary supplement for mammals, the dietary supplement includ the essential dietary trace metals, iron, copper and molybdenum. These metals are provided in a highly bioavailable state such as peptide and polypeptide chelates. This invention also includes a method for using natural proteinaceous starting materials for producing the peptide and polypeptide ligands for the chelates. The proteinaceous starting materials are obtained from a primary grown yeast, an isolated vegetable protein, dessicated tissues of animal origin and the like which, upon hydrolysis, yields the peptide and polypeptide ligands suitable for forming chelates with the iron, copper and molybdenum. The metals are each separately chelated with the peptide and polypeptide ligands and thereafter combined in the suitable ratios to form the dietary supplement. The dietary supplement is adsorbed on a suitable food product and provided in an effective amount for consumption in iron deficiency anemia.