Iron

Iron is a mineral that can be found naturally in many foods, is added to some foods, and is also available as a dietary supplement. It is necessary for human health. Iron is an essential component of Haemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. Iron is a necessary component of myoglobin, a protein that transports oxygen throughout the body, and it aids in the maintenance of healthy connective tissue. Iron is also required for physical growth, neurological development, cell function and the synthesis of certain hormones, in addition to these functions.

Sources of Iron

Food

The highest concentrations of heme iron can be found in lean meats and seafood. The diet can include a variety of foods high in nonheme iron, such as nuts, beans, vegetables, and fortified grain products, among others. Grain products like bread, cereal, and pasta make up about half of the iron consumed in the United States. Babies over the age of 4 to 6 months need more iron than breast milk provides, despite the fact that it is highly bioavailable.

There are many countries where wheat and other flours are fortified with iron, such as the United States, Canada and many more. Every litre of milk in infant formulas is fortified with 12 milligrammes of iron.

Other dietary components have a smaller impact on heme iron’s bioavailability than non heme iron, but heme iron has a higher bioavailability than nonheme iron. Nonheme iron has a lower bioavailability. The bioavailability of iron ranges from 14 to 18 percent in mixed diets containing substantial amounts of meat, seafood, and vitamin C (ascorbic acid, which increases the bioavailability of nonheme iron); in vegetarian diets, the bioavailability of iron ranges from 5 to 12 percent. Phytate (found in grains and legumes) and certain polyphenols found in non-animal foods (such as cereals and legumes) can have the opposite effect of ascorbic acid on nonheme iron absorption. As compared to other iron absorption inhibitors, calcium may have the ability to reduce the bioavailability of both non heme and heme iron. A typical mixed Western diet, on the other hand, diminishes the effects of iron enhancers and inhibitors on the iron status of the majority of people.

Intakes of Iron and the Condition of the Iron

Pregnant and lactating women are particularly vulnerable to iron deficiency. Children aged 2–11 years have an average daily iron intake of 11.5–13.7 mg/day, while children and teens aged 12–19 years have an average daily iron intake of 15.1 mg/day. Men and women aged 19 and older have an average daily iron intake of 16.3–18.2 mg/day and 12.6–13.5 mg/day. In men over the age of 19, the average daily iron intake is 19.3–20.5 milligrammes, and in women over the age of 19, the average daily iron intake is 17.0–18.9 milligrammes. Pregnant women consume an average of 14.7 milligrammes of iron per day in their diet.

Some people are at risk of having too much iron in their system. Hereditary hemochromatosis, which causes people to absorb excessive amounts of dietary iron from their diets, raises their risk of iron overload. Elderly people are more likely to have a chronically positive iron balance and elevated total body iron levels than younger adults, according to one study. For example, in the Framingham Heart Study, 13 percent of 1,106 elderly White adults aged 67 to 96 years had high iron stores (serum ferritin levels greater than 300 mcg/L in men and greater than 200 mcg/L in women), with only 1 percent of this being due to chronic disease. The authors were unable to determine whether or not these results were caused by hemochromatosis because they did not conduct genotype testing.

Iron Deficiency

Iron deficiency is a common problem in the United States, affecting young children, pregnant women, and women of reproductive age. People with iron deficiency are more likely than others to have other nutrient deficiencies because of the link between a poor diet, malabsorptive disorders, and blood loss. About half of the 1.62 billion cases of anaemia worldwide each year are caused by iron deficiency, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Enteropathies and blood loss caused by parasitic gastrointestinal parasites are among the most common causes of iron deficiency in developing countries.

On a regular basis, those who donate blood

Blood donors are more susceptible to iron deficiency than the general population. As many as eight blood donations a month are possible for adults in the United States, which can deplete iron stores. Iron deficiency affects between 25 and 35 percent of blood donors on a regular basis. In a study of 2,425 blood donors, it was discovered that men and women who had donated three or more units of whole blood in the previous year had significantly depleted their iron stores compared to those who had donated for the first time. Researchers found that taking an iron supplement (37.5 mg/day elemental iron from ferrous gluconate) for 24 weeks reduced the time it took for participants who had donated blood within the previous 3–8 days to return to their previous haemoglobin and iron levels by more than half compared to those who did not take the supplement. Many of the donors, even after 24 weeks of supplementation, did not recover the iron they had been deficient in.

Persons afflicted with cancer

One of the most common symptoms in patients with colon cancer is iron deficiency, which affects up to 60% of those diagnosed. Iron deficiency is more common in patients with other types of cancer than in the general population, ranging from 29 percent to 46 percent. In cancer patients, chronic disease anaemia (discussed in greater detail in the section on Iron and Health below) and chemotherapy-induced anaemia are the most common causes of iron deficiency. Iron deficiency can be exacerbated by chronic blood loss and nutritional deficiencies (such as cancer-induced anorexia) in this population.

Conclusion:

Iron is a mineral that is naturally present in many foods, is added to others, and can also be purchased as a dietary supplement.

The human body needs iron to make red blood cells, which are responsible for supplying oxygen to vital organs.

Iron deficiency causes dangerously low quantities of healthy red blood cells in the human body.

Heme iron is found in the highest amounts in seafood & lean meats.