Minerals have numerous functions in the body. The main minerals are: calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chlorine, sulfur, magnesium, manganese, iron, iodine, fluorine, zinc, cobalt and selenium.
Iron is an essential mineral for the growth and development of the body, which is why we must ensure that pregnant women, nursing mothers and children consume foods rich in iron.
The body uses iron to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to every corner of our body. The body also requires iron to make hormones and to keep tissues together.
Iron deficiency is a very common cause of illness in the world; when we do not have enough of it in our body we may experience fatigue, pale skin, headaches or suffer from iron deficiency anaemia (a reduction in the number of healthy red blood cells due to iron deficiency).
Properties of iron
Most of the body’s iron is present in red blood cells, mainly as a component of hemoglobin. Much of the remainder is found in myoglobin, a compound found in muscles, and as ferritin, the body’s iron reserve, is stored in the liver, spleen and bone marrow.
This mineral is not depleted or destroyed in a normally functioning body. The body is efficient, economical and conservative in its use. Iron is released when red blood cells age and die, and is absorbed and used once more and once more for the production of new red blood cells. This economy of iron is very important for the balance of the body. Under normal circumstances, only regarding one milligram of iron is lost from the body each day, through feces, urine, sweat or through hair loss.
Because this mineral is conserved, the nutritional needs of postmenopausal women and healthy men are very small. Women of childbearing age, however, must replace iron lost during menstruation and childbirth and must meet the additional needs of pregnancy and lactation. Children have relatively high needs because of their rapid growth.
Food sources
There are two types of iron, depending on whether it comes from animal or plant sources. Iron of animal origin is called heme and is easily absorbed by the human body. On the other hand, non-heme iron, of plant origin, is a little more difficult for our body to absorb.
Food sources rich in iron include meat (especially liver), fish, eggs, legumes (beans, peas, and other pulses), and green leafy vegetables (spinach, chard, watercress). Cereals, such as corn, rice, and wheat, contain moderate amounts of iron, but because these foods are widely consumed in daily diets and are inexpensive and high-yield, they supply most of the iron for many people in the world.
As a curious fact, we can say that iron cooking pots can be a source of this mineral.
Recommendation to improve absorption
In order to be absorbed by the body, it must be transformed into ferritin. This process occurs through the action of gastric juice, which contains hydrochloric acid and the presence of vitamin C, which is why we should always include foods rich in vitamin C, such as guava, orange, lemon, tree tomato, broccoli and paprika.
With information from El Nacional
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2024-07-13 17:17:58
