Many amongst us are not aware of the fact that our bodies lose iron everyday during excretion, sweating, and sloughing off the skin cells. Heavy bleeding in certain conditions and especially during pregnancy, further escalate the requirements for iron consumption. Moreover, women lose a lot of iron while menstruating. To recover the loss of iron, we should consume on an average, 18 mg of iron daily. Let’s know why we at all need to consume iron:
- For production of blood, iron is an essential element. Approximately 70 percent of iron, found in our body, is found in the hemoglobin (red blood cells) and in myoglobin (muscle cells). Hemoglobin helps to transfer oxygen molecules in your blood from the lungs to the tissues. On the other hand, myoglobin accepts, stores, transports and releases the oxygen molecules in the muscle cells.
- Iron helps in converting blood sugar into energy. Metabolic energy is essential for athletes, as it supports muscles to work at their best while exercising or competing.
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- Iron is not only needed for blood, but also for brain. For the functioning of neurotransmitters, the neurochemicals that carry messages from one nerve to another, body needs sufficient iron to function properly.
- Enzymes, which play a vital role in the production of new cells, hormones, amino acids, and neurotransmitters are produced with the help of iron. During the recovery process from illnesses, this feature becomes extremely crucial.
- Iron helps to maintain a healthy immune system. Sufficient consumption of iron protects our body from itself (in case of diseases and organ transplants), from antigens, including bacteria, virus and other substances that make sick.
- One of the most important functions of iron is to maintain healthy cells, skin, hair, and nails.
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Don’t Let Asthma Take Your Breath Away Are you facing difficulty in breathing, or th  read more... - Iron has been referred to as the body’s gold. It is primarily stored in the liver and bone marrow as a part of two other proteins called ferritin and hemosiderin.
- It saves you from anemia. People lose blood in different ways. Iron boosts the production of blood in the body.
- Need of iron increases with rapid growth. Physiologists opine that a child and an elderly person needs more iron than a healthy adult.
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Clik here to view. - It fastens the movement of blood which helps to carry enough oxygen to vital organs and muscles. Low iron slows down the movement of blood.
Vegetables like lentils, mushrooms, sesame butter (Tahim) and seeds; fruits like dates and blackberries are rich in iron. Adequate consumption of these can save one from any iron related deficiency.
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