The Specific Uses of Minerals or Elements in the Body -- Iron

October 2007: Volume 2 Number 10

Iron [Fe] – Iron is required in every cell and body function. Almost all rock, soil and plants contain some iron. Iron is essential for hemoglobin production (Blood cells contain 75% of the body’s iron.). Hemoglobin in the blood stream acts as a carrier of oxygen to all the cells in the body. Iron is also found in myoglobin (5% of the body’s iron), which supplies oxygen to the muscles.

Iron functions as a part of many enzymes and immune system compounds. Iron is found in many different enzymes and many of them are involved in the production of energy. Keeping your body supplied with iron helps the functions of your immune system and may improve some functions of your brain, such as lengthening the attention span and the ability to learn.

Too much iron can cause chronic diseases, including heart disease and colon cancer. The body fortunately has effective intestinal mechanisms to regulate the absorption of iron according to the needs of the body and prevent iron toxicity. However, there are cases when iron build-up in the body can damage the liver, heart, pancreas and other organs.

Too little iron can cause anemia marked by weakness, fatigue, paleness, breathlessness, palpitations of the heart and an increase the susceptibility to infections. Usually, iron supplementation is not needed, but there are times when the body’s absorption of iron increases two or three times higher than normal. Even with these increases, the iron is not high enough to satisfy the iron requirements in anemic conditions. Iron supplementation is needed when body iron becomes critically low.

We will discuss Iodine (I) mineral in our next lecture as a continuation of the specific uses of minerals or element in our bodies.

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