SOME IRON FACTIODS:

The average adult male has about 4.5 grams of iron in the body.

Iron is distributed in six areas of the body:

• Hemoglobin – about 3000 mg (66.4 %)
• Myoglobin – about 160 mg (3.5 %)
• Storage Iron (Ferritin, Hemosiderin) – about 1125 mg in men (25 %), 650 mg in women
• Tissue Iron – about 110 mg (2.5%) This includes ron-containing enzymes such as the cycochromes, peroxidases, catalse, oxidases, dehydrogenases
• Transport iron (transferrin) – about 4.5 mg (0.1 %)
• Labile Iron pool – about 110 mg (2.5 %). This is ion that is temporarily bound to cell membrane or cytoplasmic proteins before being incorporated into heme, enzymes or other structures

The body can only absorb about 1 mg out of every 20 mg of iron in food consumed.

• Ferric iron is not absorbable
• Ferrous iron is absorbable

Total daily iron loss is

• about 1 mg/day in 70-kg men and
• 0.8 mg/day in 55-kg non-menstruating females,
• 1.2 to 3.4 mg/day in menstruating fem

USA Food and NUtrition Board Recommended daily allowance of iron:

• Adult males 8 mg/day,
• adolescent males 11 mg/day,
• adult females premenopausal 18 mg/day, adult females postmenopausal 8 mg/day,
• adolescent females 15 mg/day,
• pregnant females 27 mg/day

Vegetarian diet contains less absorbable iron.
The adjusted US RDA adjusted for vegetarian diet is:

• men 14 mg/day,
• postmenopausal women 14 mg/day,
• premenopausal women 33 mg/day,
• adolescent females 26 mg/day

Regular intense exercise increases iron requirements by about 30%.

1 Unit of Blood contains 250 mg iron.
1 unit blood donation in susceptible women, 3-4 units of blood donation in men may exhaust iron stores.

CAUSES OF IRON DEFICIENCY:
Iron deficiency may occur from the sum of iron intake and iron losses as follows:

INADEQUATE IRON IN FOOD

• Minerally deficient farmland leads to mineral deficient fruits and vegetables
• Lack of meat, seafood – both promote absorption of non-heme iron. Meat provides well-absorbed heme iron.
• Vegetarian diet – iron from plant sources are less efficiently absorbed

POOR ABSORPTION OF IRON

• Diarrhea
• Malabsorption Syndrome (e.g. gastric bypass)
• Hiatal Hernia
• Celiac Disease
• Inadequate Gastric Acid (improves iron absorption by converting ferric iron to ferrous form)
  • Aging
  • Antacid use (reduces absorption of iron, zinc, etc.)
• Coffee/Caffeine (causes loss of B-vitamins, Vitamin C, calcium, iron and zinc)
• Inadequate Vitamin C (improves iron absorption by converting ferric iron to ferrous form)
• Inadequate sugar (glucose, fructore), amino acids, succinates (these bind to iron and facillitate binding to intestinal mucosa, which absorbs the iron).
• Excess pancreatic alkaline secretions (convert ferrous iron to inasorbable ferric form)
• Dietary phosphates in cereals bind to iron and prevent absorption
  • Phytates (inositol hexaphosphate salts) are in grains, seeds, nuts, vegetables, roots (e.g. potatoes), and fruits
  • High phytate content: bran, whole-wheat flour, oats.
• Coffee, Tea, Cocoa contain Polyphenols (such as tannin), which bind to iron, preventing absorption
• Calcium competes with iron for absorption. Maximal inhibition of iron is 60% by 300-600 mg of calcium in a meal.
• Fermented vegetables – enhance iron absorption
• Red wine (most) contain phenolic compounds which bind iron and inhibit absorption
• Certain medications impair iron absorption (e.g. Tetracycline)

BLOOD LOSS

• Gastrointestinal bleed (more than 50 causes)
  • Aspirin, Ibuprofen and other NSAIDS)
  • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Gastric Ulcer
  • Hook Worm
  • Colon Cancer
  • Hemorrhoids
• Hereditary Hemorrhagic telangiectasia (Osler’s disease)
• Renal loss (hematuria,
• Menstruation
  • Fibroids
  • Endometriosis
• Post-partum hemorrhage
• Dialysis
• Hemolysis
  • Malaria
  • G6PD deficiency

  IUD Use

• Intense Exercse (e.g. marathon running).
  • Exercise decreases intestinal blood flow by 20-50%,
  • Decreased blood flow increases the risk of ischemic damage to the stomach and intestin.
  • Exercise also decreases lower esophageal sphincter pressure, increasing the risk of erosive esophagitis.
  • Running may traumatize gastrointestinal organs and increase the risk of bleeding from hemorroids.

PHYSIOLOGIC LOSS OF IRON

• Menstruation
• Sweat
• Urine
• Bile
• Loss of skin cells
• Loss of cells from mucosal membrane, stomach, and intestines.

INCREASED IRON REQUIREMENTS

• Growth (expansion of the total body iron body)
• Pregnancy and lactation

Great information sharing..Sources where you can get iron include many cereals such as wheat and oats, and lentils, beans, soybeans, green leafy vegetables like spinach, broccoli, mustard and dried fruits. Iron can be found in red meat also…