{"id":3543,"date":"2022-10-07T12:28:10","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T06:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.myhealthvectors.com\/?p=3543"},"modified":"2025-03-21T16:28:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T10:58:44","slug":"all-you-need-to-know-iron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/all-you-need-to-know-iron\/","title":{"rendered":"All you need to know - Iron"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

What is Iron and it's role in the body? <\/strong>
Iron is a major component of hemoglobin, a type of\u00a0protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your\u00a0lungs to all parts of the body.\u00a0
Without enough iron, there aren\u2019t enough red blood\u00a0cells to transport oxygen, which leads to fatigue.\u00a0
Iron is also part of myoglobin, a protein that carries and\u00a0stores oxygen specifically in muscle tissues.\u00a0
Iron is important for healthy brain development and growth in children, and for the normal production and function of various cells and hormones.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"Various<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Dietary sources of Iron\u200b <\/strong>
Iron is found naturally in many foods and is added\u00a0to some\u00a0fortified\u00a0food products. You can get\u00a0recommended amounts of iron by eating a\u00a0variety of foods, including the following:
*Lean meat, seafood, and poultry.
*Iron-fortified breakfast cereals and breads.
*White beans, lentils, spinach, kidney beans, and peas.
*Nuts and some dried fruits, such as raisins.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Types of Dietary Iron<\/strong>
Iron in food comes in two forms: heme iron and\u00a0non-heme iron.\u00a0
Non-heme iron is\u00a0found in plant foods and iron-fortified food products.\u00a0
Meat, seafood, and poultry\u00a0have both heme and\u00a0nonheme iron.
Your body absorbs iron from plant sources better\u00a0when you eat it with\u00a0foods that contain\u00a0vitamin C,\u00a0such as citrus fruits,\u00a0strawberries, sweet peppers,\u00a0tomatoes, and broccoli etc.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Daily requirement of iron <\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"A<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"A<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Iron Deficiency <\/strong>
Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common\u00a0type of anemia. It occurs when your body\u00a0doesn't have enough iron, which your body\u00a0needs to make hemoglobin. When there\u00a0isn't enough iron in your blood, the rest of\u00a0your body can't get the oxygen it needs.
The World Health Organization (WHO)\u00a0estimates that approximately half of the\u00a01.62 billion cases of anemia worldwide are\u00a0due to iron deficiency.
Reference<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Two<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Screening for iron deficiency <\/strong>
A CBC provides information about your blood that\u2019s\u00a0helpful in diagnosing iron-deficiency anemia. This\u00a0information includes:
*the hematocrit level, which is the percent of blood volume made up of RBCs
*the hemoglobin level
*the size of your RBCs<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Woman<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Symptoms of Iron Deficiency Anaemia <\/strong>
The symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia can be mild at first, and you may not even notice\u00a0them. Most\u00a0people don\u2019t realize they have mild anemia until they have a routine blood test.
The symptoms of moderate to severe\u00a0iron-deficiency\u00a0anemia can include:
general fatigue
*weakness
*pale skin
*shortness of breath
*dizziness
*strange cravings to eat items with no nutritional value
*a tingling or crawling feeling in the legs
*tongue swelling or soreness
*cold hands and feet
*fast or irregular heartbeat
*brittle nails
*headaches<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Causes of Iron Deficiency Anaemia <\/strong>
Inadequate iron intake-\u00a0Eating too little iron over\u00a0an extended amount of time can cause a shortage\u00a0in your body.
Internal Bleeding-\u00a0Certain medical\u00a0conditions\u00a0(eg.\u00a0Stomach\u00a0ulcer,\u00a0colon cancer\u00a0etc.)can cause internal bleeding,\u00a0which can lead\u00a0to\u00a0iron-deficiency anemia.\u00a0Regular use of certain\u00a0pain\u00a0relievers, such\u00a0as aspirin, can also lead to\u00a0bleeding in the stomach.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"Pregnant<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Causes of Iron Deficiency Anaemia <\/strong>
Pregnancy or blood loss due to menstruation- Heavy menstrual bleeding is a common cause of iron-deficiency anemia in women of childbearing age. Pregnant women need more iron during this time in order to create enough oxygen for the baby.
Inability to absorb iron-\u00a0Even\u00a0if you get enough\u00a0iron from your\u00a0diet,\u00a0certain\u00a0disorders or surgeries\u00a0that affect the intestines can\u00a0also\u00a0interfere with\u00a0how your body absorbs iron.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What are the risk factors of iron-deficiency anaemia?
<\/strong>Some people may be at greater risk of iron-deficiency\u00a0anaemia\u00a0than\u00a0others, including:
*Pregnant women and women of childbearing age.
*Menstruating women\u2014women who experience heavy bleeding during menstruation.
*Children\u2014infants and children have high iron needs due to their rapid growth.
*Elderly\u2014older ages are associated with a higher risk of poor nutrition and chronic inflammatory diseases that can lead to anemia.
*Vegetarians- those who don\u2019t replace meat with another iron-rich food<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"A<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Treatment of Iron Deficiency Anaemia <\/strong>
Iron deficiency\u00a0anemia is treated will depend on how severe the\u00a0problem is and what caused it in the first place. Treatment\u00a0options can include;
Iron supplements-\u00a0Iron tablets can help restore iron levels in\u00a0your body. If possible, you should take iron tablets on an\u00a0empty stomach, which helps the body absorb them better.\u00a0
Diet- Include in diet foods rich in iron like red meat, green\u00a0leafy vegetables, dry fruits, nuts, fortified cereals etc.\u00a0Additionally, vitamin C may help your body absorb iron. If\u00a0you\u2019re taking iron tablets, a doctor might suggest taking the\u00a0tablets along with a source of vitamin C, such as a glass of\u00a0orange juice or citrus fruit.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Disclaimer:<\/strong> The advice provided is intended for informational purpose only and does not substitute for professional medical advice.\u00a0\u00a0Consult with your doctor if you\u2019re seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment.\u200b<\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is Iron and it's role in the body? Iron is a major component of hemoglobin, a type of\u00a0protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your\u00a0lungs to all parts of the body.\u00a0 Without enough iron, there aren\u2019t enough red blood\u00a0cells to transport oxygen, which leads to fatigue.\u00a0 Iron is also part of myoglobin, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":4731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3543"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6438,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3543\/revisions\/6438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthvectors.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}