Women & Men's Health

All about iron

Weakness, pale skin, difficulty concentrating, headaches, shortness of breath when exercising, heart palpitations? You could have issues with your iron levels. Iron is an essential mineral for life and most of us are aware that it is part of our blood.  So what else does it do for us? Where does it come from? What happens if we don’t have enough or have too much? These questions and others will be answered, so read on.

What is iron used for?

Iron is a critical component of blood and is used for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.  It is in the central position in the basic heme structure, which is then grouped to form a red blood cells It is also used in myoglobin, which are proteins in the muscles which hold oxygen Iron supports key enzymes involved in energy production and metabolism Iron is a necessary component in brain development and function, and is needed to synthesize certain neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine) and collagen Cell division and growth Immunity

Can you have too much or too little?

Yes you can have too much or too little. With regards to deficiency there tend to be specific groups of people who are prone to this and these are discussed below, along with the signs and symptoms.  Excess iron can be dangerous as it is toxic.

How to we find out if we have too much or too little?

Blood tests are used to indicate iron levels.  To get the completed picture you have to look at 3 things:

• Serum iron measure the iron in the blood
• Ferritin is stored iron
• Transferrin is a protein which carries iron in the blood

Just looking at serum blood can be misleading, for example, the body takes iron out of circulation and hides it when there is an infection in the body.  This is because infectious agents need iron to multiply.  We should note here not to take iron supplements when we have an infection.

Excess Iron

As we said earlier excess iron is toxic, especially to the organs where it gets stored in excess, which are liver, heart, pancreas and kidneys.  There is a hereditary condition called haemochromatosis, where iron absorption is uncontrolled and the body absorbs excessive amounts of iron.

Iron Deficiency

Who is at risk of deficient?

Infants, children and adolescents due to growth Menstruating women Athletes Vegetarians and vegans Pregnant women People with any type of bleeding in the intestines (for example, a bleeding ulcer) People who frequently donate blood People with gastrointestinal conditions that make it hard to absorb nutrients from food

What are the main deficiency signs?

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Paleness of the skin, gums and nail beds
• Reduced ability to fight infections
• Difficulty concentrating
• Headaches
• Shortness of breath when exercising
• Heart palpitations

What stops absorption?

• Zinc competes with iron for absorption so is best taken at night if you wish to avoid this.
•  Oxalates stop iron absorption and high sources are rhubarb, spinach, strawberries, chocolate, wheat bran, nuts and beets.  So even though spinach is very high in iron, the high oxalate content means only about 1.4% of the iron is useable.
• Tannins in tea prevent absorption, so if you are low in iron don’t have a cuppa after dinner.
• Caffeine is the same.
• Stomach acid is required to breakdown iron when it is ingested.  So if the pH is not acidic enough the iron does not get absorbed.
• Vitamins A, B and C are required for absorption.  Vitamin C is especially important and should be taken at the same time to double the chances of iron absorption.

What are good food sources?

There are two types of iron, haem and non-haem.  Haem iron is more readily available and is found in animal sources.  Non-haem iron is found in whole grain cereals, vegetables (especially leafy green vegetables), fruits, nuts and legumes.  This type of iron is not as readily absorbed as haem iron.  Eating non haem iron with haem iron will help its absorption.

Some good sources are:

Red meat, especially organ meat Poultry mostly the darker meat Mussels and oysters Fish Molasses Beans Green vegetables