A great aspect of nutrition is that there are many different areas that can be studied and explored. If you are not a nutrition student, or work in the nutrition field, than you probably are not too familiar with the trace minerals that play vital roles in the human body. A trace mineral is an essential mineral that is found in amounts smaller than 5 grams in the human body. These trace minerals include iron, copper, iodine, manganese, fluoride, and many more. Even though these minerals are found in such small amounts, they tackle big jobs. Iron is a very important trace mineral, as it is vital to many of our cells activities. Iron is also a very intriguing mineral because it is a perfect example of what mineral toxicities and deficiencies are. For a lot of people, eating sufficient iron food sources comes as a difficult task. While others eat so many high iron food sources that it can become toxic. So lets take a look at what exactly Iron is, and does.
Again, this can get a little complicated with the chemistry, so I will make it as simple as possible to understand. Iron is necessary for oxygen transport in the blood. Irons job is to bind to oxygen in the blood and carry it from the lungs to all the other cells in the body so that they can function. In addition, iron has two ionic states: Ferrous Iron and Ferric Iron. Iron can serve as a co-factor in certain chemical reactions. (Definition: A co-factor is a substance that works with an enzyme to facilitate a chemical reaction.) Iron is also needed by enzymes that are involved in the creation of amino acids, collagen, hormones, and neurotransmitters. To learn more about these chemical reactions, which are known as oxidation-reduction reactions, please watch Joey Smokey from the Clark College Tutoring and Writing Center:
Iron also participates in the electron transport chain, which results in the creation of ATP, the bodies main energy source. For more information on the electron transport chain, watch this segment from Prentice Halls Presentation Pro:
There are two types of iron: heme iron, and non-heme iron. Heme iron is usually found only in the flesh of animals, such as meats, poultry, and fish. Non-heme iron is found in both plant and animal derived food products. Heme iron is usually better absorbed into the body, but that also depends on dietary factors as well as your bodies personal iron stores. Hemoglobin and Myoglobin are the two heme-containing proteins in the body that are responsible for the transportation and storage of oxygen from the heart to the rest of the body and muscles. When a person is deficient in iron, their absorption increases, and when a person has an iron overload, their absorption decreases. Now there are a lot of other factors to iron, such as transport, storage, absorption factors, and iron recycling, but I am going to skip those for now. If you would like to read intensely on the subject of iron, please visit the Linus Pauling Institute:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/iron/
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/iron/
Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency around the world.
Those who are at high risk for iron deficiency are women in their reproductive years, pregnant women, infants, young children, and maybe, just maybe, the tin man. Significant blood losses from the body can also bring on an iron deficiency, as most of the bodies iron is in its red blood cells. Now iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia are not the same thing. Iron deficiency is just concerned with depleted iron stores, not the degree of depletion. Iron deficiency anemia is a severe depletion of iron stores so much that it causes a low hemoglobin concentration. In this case, the hemoglobin cells become small and pale, and cant carry enough oxygen. Many times, this results in tiredness, fatigue, weakness, and apathy. Look at the difference between red blood cells in the picture below:
Those who are at high risk for iron deficiency are women in their reproductive years, pregnant women, infants, young children, and maybe, just maybe, the tin man. Significant blood losses from the body can also bring on an iron deficiency, as most of the bodies iron is in its red blood cells. Now iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia are not the same thing. Iron deficiency is just concerned with depleted iron stores, not the degree of depletion. Iron deficiency anemia is a severe depletion of iron stores so much that it causes a low hemoglobin concentration. In this case, the hemoglobin cells become small and pale, and cant carry enough oxygen. Many times, this results in tiredness, fatigue, weakness, and apathy. Look at the difference between red blood cells in the picture below:
Iron toxicity is very different, and is usually a result of a genetic disorder that causes iron absorption, although there are other reasons, such as too many blood transfusions. This happens when too much iron is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. This is also known as hemochromatosis. The iron can then possibly build up in your liver, causing many side effects, such as liver swelling, fatique, and lethargy. Iron toxicity is much more common in men than in women. This may be because many men tend to consume more meat and animal products than women, but is also because of the amount of iron fortified foods on the market that make it hard for people with hemochromatosis to follow a low iron diet.
Now that you know a bit a bout iron, you can supplement your diet in a suitable way. My suggestion would be to first get your blood work taken by your doctor, to assess your hemoglobin levels, and decide if iron supplementation is for you. Some high iron food sources to include in your daily diet are meat, chicken, fish, dried beans, peas, baked beans, sunflower seeds, eggs, whole grain bread, raisins, dried fruits, dark, leafy green vegetables, baked potatoes, and peanut butter.
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