The Importance of Iron

All living things require iron. Humans use iron to make, inter alia, haemoglobin and myoglobin, the proteins that help store and carry oxygen throughout the body. Iron is the centre of our red blood cells, which allow oxygen to be carried throughout your body and into your brain.  Your brain uses over 20% of the oxygen available in the blood.  Lack of oxygen has a major impact on your brain's health and in the formation of dementia.

Iron supply to body requires to be constantly replenished with food. Good sources of Iron are:

Ø  Meat

Ø  Fish

Ø  Egg Yolks

Ø  Beans

Ø  Nuts

Ø  Dark-Green vegetables

The iron intake can further be boosted by cooking in a cast-iron pan. By this, you can eat microscopic pieces of your pan along with your meal, but your body can use them.

Iron supplements are also one more source of iron. But they are intended as an addition to a nutritious diet when necessary and not a substitute for that. Please note that Iron supplements are to be prescribed by a doctor. You should not turn to iron supplements without consulting a doctor. Iron is not easily excreted by the body and can cause toxicity.

If you stick only to natural sources of iron, you cannot get too much of iron. The body absorbs so much of iron as is necessary. If you take too much of iron supplements, it is another matter.

Hemochromatosis is a genetic disorder that promotes excessive iron absorption. It is found in one in 200 people of northern European descent. It causes joint pain, belly pain and fatigue. If left untreated, it may ultimately lead to serious heart or liver trouble.

There are two main types of dietary iron:

Iron Deficiency: The body keeps some iron in reserve. However, low quantities of iron replenishment can lead to anaemia which is lack of healthy red blood cells for carrying oxygen. The symptom of anaemia include fatigue, shortness of breath, feeling of being cold, headache, irritability, dizziness or a paling of the skin. It is important to address iron deficiency anaemia because it can lead to heart problems in the long run.

Anaemia can cause changes to the heart’s pumping chamber, which increases the risk of heart attack and myocardial fibrosis. The lower the haemoglobin, the more likely it is that the left ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure will develop.

Anaemia is a serious concern for children as it can impair cognitive development, it can stunt growth and make the children prone to infectious disease. Anaemia is also believed to be a major cause of maternal death.

Iron deficiency anaemia can also be a sign of an underlying condition such as coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease or colorectal cancer. Because iron is excreted along with blood leaving the body, other risk groups are menstruating women and frequent blood donors.