Diet gun

Iron is one of the most well-known trace elements.

Essential for life because it is necessary for the creation of hemoglobin which carries oxygen throughout the body. It is found in two forms in foods. In the form of heme (heme iron) and in the form of non-heme (non-heme iron). Depending on the form present in food, its absorption by the body also depends. If it is in the form of heme it is absorbed at a rate of 8% to 10%, while if it is in the form of non-heme at a rate of only 2% to 8%.

The well-known water-soluble vitamin C increases the absorption of non-heme iron by the body.

Iron can be stored in the body in the form of ferritin and hemosiderin (found mainly in the bone marrow and liver). The recommended daily dose is 9 mg for adult European men while the corresponding value for women is 17 – 21 mg, 10 – 15 mg for American adults, 9 and 12.5 mg for the rest of the world for adult men and women respectively.

In iron deficiency, iron-deficiency anemia occurs, which is curable with appropriate nutrition and iron supplements. Other functions of iron in the body are that it helps growth, increases the body’s resistance to some diseases, prevents fatigue and restores the good tone to the skin.

The best sources of iron are pork liver, beef kidneys and generally all animal organs (e.g. heart), red meat (which are also sources of heme iron), egg yolks, oysters, walnuts, beans, asparagus and oats.

As a dietary supplement, it is available in various forms, liquid, caps, tablets, chewable tablets and in a wide variety of doses. If it is in the form of ferrous sulfate it destroys vitamin E and since you have to continue taking it in this form you should take vitamin E at least 8 hours before or after the iron supplement.

Toxicity rarely occurs in healthy and normal subjects. Large amounts of coffee or tea are likely to block the absorption of iron from food.

Athletes, due to their need for the best possible transport of oxygen in the body, also have increased iron intake needs compared to non-athletes.
A 10% drop in hemoglobin levels in the body can lead to a drop in performance of 20 – 25%. Athletes who train hard 3 hours a day have an iron loss of 3.5 mg (male athlete) and 4.1 mg  (female athlete). To meet these needs, their daily intake should be 35 mg and 41 mg respectively since, as already mentioned, only about 10% can be absorbed.

Analyzes of athletes diets showed that every 1000 calories contained only 6 mg of iron. This means that they would have to consume 7000 calories a day to cover the amount of iron they should be getting, an ammount of calories possibly excessive. For them taking iron supplements is the best solution.