People at Risk of Iron Deficiency
The balance of iron is highly dependent on the level of need for iron in the body, which varies during one’s lifetime . People at risk of iron deficiency are or these requirements are higher in:
Children and adolescents because of the rapid growth ; Women from puberty to menopause, due to the additional iron loss due to menstruation; Pregnant women because of the needs of the fetus and changes in the body of the woman.
In fact, to reach the recommended iron intake is less easy than you might think. Recent studies have confirmed this problem for a significant portion of the population in the western world, iron intake is insufficient because the concentration of iron in the diet is too low. Even in western countries where there is abundance, problem of anemia exists because of nutritional deficiencies.
Iron is an essential mineral for the proper functioning of the body. It is involved in the structure of many proteins and enzymes, including with hemoglobin and myoglobin- it has a fundamental role in the formation of hemoglobin in the red blood cells, in the formation of myoglobin contained in the muscles and in many essential enzymes for the proper functioning of the body.
Iron is present in very small quantities in the body and part of this iron is eliminated each day. To maintain a sufficient amount of iron, you need to replace these losses by eating nutritious foods that are rich in iron. If your iron intake is inadequate compared to the losses, this imbalance of iron or iron deficiency has consequences for your health.
Iron deficiency results in anemia, accompanied by a reduction in physical and mental capacity, decreased resistance to infection, increased risk of low birth weight (for pregnant women) and increased mortality rates in newborn babies. In many developing countries , anemia due to iron deficiency is a serious public health problem that affects in some cases half the women and children.
We often hear that the iron from heme (red part of the blood- from animal sources) is better absorbed than iron from plant sources. Vegetarians are more prone to iron deficiency than meat eaters. Are they really the people at risk of iron deficiency and why is that so?
In fact , things are not so simple, because there is a majority of non-heme iron in meat and there are also traces of heme iron in the mitochondria of plant cells. It is also true that the heme iron has an absorption rate of 25% to only 5% for non heme iron. Having said that, some other studies have shown that the iron content in the plant food is better absorbed by vegetarians than omnivores.
Hence the body of a vegetarian adapts to the best use of whatever is available to them. And iron deficiency, which is quite common, is actually not more common in vegetarians than in omnivores. It is also essential that person has a balanced diet. When we look at the cases of iron deficiency, we need to also see the foods that allow or block the easy absorption of iron in the body, as well as the age and lifestyle of those people.
The iron-rich foods are meats , grains, some fruits and vegetables. There is quite a bit of iron in seaweed- (kelp, spirulina), legumes (lentil, beans, chick peas), oil seeds (sesame, sunflower, flax), oatmeal and nettle. Iron absorption is enhanced by lacto-fermented foods, vitamin C and the cooking of vegetables. On the contrary, dairy products, tea, eggs and oxalates (spinach, rhubarb, sorrel) block iron absorption if consumed in the same meal.
Iron requirements of women is higher than men, especially during teenage years as women go through menstrual periods. Bleeding and blood donations increase your losses of iron so you need to have more of iron rich foods in these periods.
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