How Does the Body Use Iron?
- The amount of iron in the body is dependent on the weight, sex and age of the individual. Iron is an essential body mineral, accounting for 5 to 6 grams of the total body weight of an average-sized adult, according to the American Red Cross.
Iron is found in all body cells, but even scientists do not completely understand the homeostasis of body iron. The body stores iron in a protein called ferritin, but it also uses a significant amount in regular functions such as storage in the muscles and delivering electrons via the respiratory system. Iron is lost each day in regular functions such as urination, perspiration and destruction of skin cells. A child requires from 0.27 to 10 milligrams every day, depending on age. Males should ingest an average of 8 milligrams per day, except during the years of expanded growth between 14 and 18 years, when 11 milligrams are required each day. Women should ingest the same amount of iron as men, except between the ages of 14 to 18 years when 15 milligrams are necessary. Females 19 to 50 years old require 18 milligrams every day. The female body returns to an amount equal to the male requirement of 8 milligrams per day after the age of 50. - The heme molecule has an atom of iron that assists in both the hemoglobin and cytochrome actions in the body. Iron is essential in moving oxygen to the cells and is also used in the process of converting oxygen and energy into water and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is necessary for cell metabolism. Iron, a heme porphyrin, bonds with oxygen and then travels throughout the body supplying iron and oxygen to each cell. Hemoglobin, located in the body's red blood cells, carries nearly half of the iron in the body, but iron is present in every cell of the human body. Myoglobin and cytochromes, other body proteins, also bond with iron.
- In addition to supplying oxygen to the cells, a correct amount of iron is necessary for the synthesis of DNA and division of cells. Certain brain neurotransmitters rely on iron to function. Babies and children, due to rapid body growth, require higher levels of iron to facilitate healthy development, especially in the brain. The ferritin protein stores the iron in a spherical shell and gradually releases it into the body as it is needed. Bodies have a "set point" for iron; too much or too little iron creates health problems. Anemia and fatigue are the most common results of a lack of iron in the body. Irregular heartbeat, gallstones, diabetes, osteoarthritis and some liver cancers have been linked with the presence of too much iron in the body.
