Nutrition 05 Jun 2008 08:10 pm
Bioavailability of Iron in Our Bodies
This article talks about the importance of iron in our body and things that affect the bioavailability of iron in vitamins.
Necessity of Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are essential to our overall health and growth. They play such a large part in our body. From producing and maintaining necessary enzymes and tissues to helping our organs to function properly, vitamins and minerals are a necessity for a healthy life. There are different ways to acquire the vitamins and minerals we need. Because they are available in animals and plant tissues, we can get many of these by eating vitamin rich foods. However, if you don’t feel you will get what you need just by the foods you eat, there are vitamin supplements you can take in tablet or pill form.
Iron - One of the Important Ones
Iron is a very important mineral for our bodies. From the time we were little we’ve all been told to take our vitamins to put iron in our body so we don’t become anemic. The primary purpose of iron is to help in the production of hemoglobin, myoglobin as well as other enzymes. Hemoglobin is the primary component in our red blood cells while myoglobin is the primary source of protein in our muscles. The iron in our bodies delivers oxygen to our muscles by way of our blood, which is a way to get energy into our cells. Another role of iron is to remove carbon dioxide from our cells. Many people today are deficient in iron, especially woman. In fact, when we go to the doctor with symptoms of feeling listless, run down and tired, the first test they will do is a test to see if you’re anemic.
The way iron is absorbed in our body is different depending on if we got our iron from natural sources in food or by vitamin supplements in pills or tablets. For this reason, the bioavailability of iron in supplements is often at debate. The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of iron in our body is 18 milligrams, but some iron supplements exceed this amount, which makes many question the effectiveness of the bioavailability of the iron content in vitamins. The bioavailability of iron in vitamin pills and tablets is affected differently in each person. If we take more than we should, we may get a sour or upset stomach. Actually, because we get iron from the foods we eat regularly, the bioavailability of iron in vitamin tablets should be reduced.
Since it is medical professionals and pharmaceutical firms that are ones that are putting limits on the iron content in vitamins, the question of bioavailability of iron in vitamins should be addressed with them. The fact that we get iron in many of the foods we eat should be taken into consideration, although there are certain circumstances where certain people need more iron such as pregnancy and patients with anemia. Too much iron can cause problems such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
