[Image: Mulitgrain breads]Iron
Iron is necessary for the making new cells, amino acids, and hormones. It is also required for proper functioning of the nerve cells. Most of the iron in the body is a part of hemoglobin which is in the red blood cells. Hemoglobin in the red blood cells carries oxygen in to all the cells. The red blood cells act as a shuttle service, traveling back and forth between the lungs and the muscles and other parts of the body to carry and maintain a fresh supply of oxygen. Iron helps to use energy and prevents iron deficiency anemia. Iron increases resistance to infection. About 80% of the iron is found in the blood. Smaller amounts of iron are found in the muscle bound to myoglobin.
Since most of the iron in the body is found in the blood, whenever you lose blood, you lose iron. Be sure to eat iron-rich foods and eat other foods with them to help increase the absorption of iron. If iron stores in the body are low and used up, the body cannot make enough hemoglobin to fill its new red blood cells. Without enough hemoglobin, the red blood cells are small and are lighter red than normal. Since hemoglobin is the bright red pigment of the blood, the skin of a fair person who is anemic may become pale. These smaller cells can't carry enough oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, so energy release in the muscle cells is impaired or doesn't function as it should. This affects every cell in your body. You could then feel tired, weak, have headaches and be apathetic. You also could have lowered resistance to colds and infections. Your body isn't able to regulate your body temperature as well. You may feel cold. Children with low intakes of iron become irritable and restless. Some people who are iron-deficient crave ice, clay or other unusual substances. Iron-deficiency results from eating foods that are not high in iron, or it can result from blood loss, or from parasitic infections of the gastro-intestinal tract resulting in intestinal blood loss.
Sources of Iron
The meat group is the best source of iron in the Food Guide. Meat, fish, poultry and legumes are good sources. Vegetables, especially dark greens, are good sources of iron. Foods in the milk group are poor iron sources.
Grain foods are good sources of iron. Iron is one of the nutrients replaced in processed foods during enrichment. Select whole-grain or enriched breads and cereals. About 25% of all the iron consumed in the United States comes from foods to which iron has been added, including enriched breads and cereals and fortified breakfast cereals. Although a single serving contributes little iron, these food sources become significant sources of iron because we eat several servings each day.
Types of Iron
Iron occurs in two forms in foods. One is heme iron, which is the type found in iron-carrying proteins hemoglobin and myoglobin in meats, poultry and fish. The other form of iron is called nonheme iron. Normally, about 10% of the iron in food is actually absorbed by our body.
Heme iron provides about one to two milligrams of the 10 to 20 milligrams of iron the average person consumes in a day[Image: Tomatoes]. Most of the dietary iron is nonheme iron. About one-fourth of the iron in heme iron is absorbed, but nonheme iron's absorption is affected by many factors. By thinking about these factors and planning accordingly, you can double or triple the amount of iron your body actually gets from foods. Small amounts of meat, fish, poultry or vitamin C help you better absorb the iron from other foods. To absorb the most iron, use one or both of these enhancing factors at every meal. The more vitamin C-rich foods, the better. Coffee and tea inhibit iron absorption. Orange juice enhances iron absorption because of the high vitamin C content.
The Nutrition Label
Iron is one of the three minerals required to be on nutrition labels. Calcium and sodium are the other minerals. The nutrients listed on the nutrition labels reflect a focus on nutrients of public health concern that may help reduce the risk for certain diseases, instead of those that prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The % Daily Value shows how the amount of iron in a serving of that particular food compares to 18 milligrams, the Daily Value for iron for the nutrition panel on the label.
Web Site Activity
- Visit the Meals for You website:
- Find Recipes: By Nutrition in the left column.
- Click on Lower Sodium.
- Scroll down the recipes listed on the left and click on one you might like to try. Print one recipe and try it.
- Go back and click on By Popularity.
- Scroll through this as a source for some other recipes you can click on to see. You do not have to order one of these cookbooks.
Summary
Minerals are a very important group of nutrients for us to consume daily. Eating according to the USDA MyPyramid assures that we get the kinds and amounts of minerals we need for the day. We need to read the nutrition facts panel on the food labels. We need to make a concentrated effort to include healthy amounts of sodium, calcium and iron in our diets daily. We need to include a vitamin C food or a small amount of meat, poultry or fish with a nonheme source of iron to help our body better absorb the iron.