The most abundant metal on Earth is iron, and iron is essential to maintaining your life. Although you store it in your liver, most of the iron in your body is coursing through your bloodstream. Iron is a nutrient that must be kept in balance. If you are concerned about levels that are too high or low, see your doctor. You can take blood tests and compare the results with a normal range of values.
Importance of Iron
Iron is a critical nutrient. It is involved in hundreds of biological processes, especially the metabolism of various proteins and the work of several enzymes. Iron helps deliver oxygen throughout your body, and it helps maintain a balance of antioxidants and pro-oxidants. Your body uses it to construct DNA. Although you can store iron, you can also lose it when you shed blood and experience periods of rapid growth. And, although it's abundant in foods, low iron is one of the world's most common nutrient deficiencies.
Where the Iron Is
Up to 75 percent of your body's iron is in your bloodstream, carried around through a protein in your red blood cells called hemoglobin. Some of remainder is transported in another substance called myoglobin, and iron reserves store in your liver. If you consume too little iron in your diet, your body uses your reserves, but you run the risk of anemia and complications with all the processes that require iron. On the other hand if you consume too much, you risk iron toxicity. Excess iron can build up in your tissues and organs. This can increase your risk for certain cancers and can be fatal.
Blood Tests
Your doctor can order a blood test to determine your iron status. A normal result ranges from 60 to 170 mcg/dL of iron in your blood. Another test helps to measure the ability of a protein to carry iron in your blood. It's called total iron binding capacity, or TIBC. You want a range of 240 to 450 mcg/dL. Finally, another calculation called transferrin saturation gives the most useful indicator of your overall iron status. It's made by dividing your iron concentration by your TIBC. A healthy range is between 20 and 50 percent. If tests reveal your iron level is low, your TIBC is high and your transferrin saturation percentage is low, you may be diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia.
Improve Iron Levels
Adult men need about 8 mg of iron daily. Women in their childbearing years need 18 mg daily. Beyond those years, women should get the same amount as men. Consuming enough iron-rich foods can help restore your iron levels if you are deficient. In foods, iron comes in two forms, heme and non-heme. Heme iron comes from animal foods that contained hemoglobin, and non-heme iron comes from plant sources. Chicken livers, oysters and beef are among the biggest sources of heme iron. Soybeans, lentils and various beans are good sources of non-heme iron. In addition, many foods, especially breakfast cereals are fortified with iron and can provide a handy way to increase your iron intake if necessary. Take non-heme iron with vitamin C to improve absorption.
References
- MedlinePlus: Serum Iron
- Colorado State University Extension; Iron; J. Anderson and C. Fitzgerald; June 2010
- Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University; Iron; Jane Higdon; January 2006
- University of Utah Health Care: Diseases of Iron Metabolism
- Lab Tests Online: Iron
- Mount Nittany Medical Center: TIBC and Transferrin Tests
Member Comments