Iron is an essential nutrient our body use to produce red blood cells for proper functioning of the body.
Iron is a cofactor which involves in various biochemical reactions in the body.
Iron is powerful, as it participate in the making of hormones, amino acids and neurotransmitters. To maintain and keep you healthier all times.
Protein plays a significant role in iron as most of it is found in hemoglobin,( in the red blood cells) and myoglobin ( in the muscle cells). About 80% of body’s iron is in the hemoglobin.
These protein components are responsible for accepting, carry, and spread of oxygen, both in the red blood cells and muscles cells.
In fact, hemoglobin is a protein that transport oxygen from lungs to organ or tissues. Whereas, myoglobin store, transport and release oxygen through the muscle cells.
Moreover, in the cells, 25% of iron is stored in the ferritin, and it can stored for longer period of time, especially in male whereas shorter period in female. This is why women are more at risk of anemia than men.
Deficiency of iron is readily seem in infant, young children, teenager, women of children bearing age as well as pregnant women. It’s symptoms such as fatigue, anemia to name but a few.
Furthermore, iron is necessary for red blood cells formation, and can be sourced from plants and animal source
Food Source Of Iron
Beef
liver
Blueberries
Tofu
Eggs
Soybeans
Turnip
Sprouts
Broccoli
Cashew nuts
Spinach
Dark chocolate
Oyster
White beans
Tomatoes
Meat
10 Reason Why You Need Iron-rich foods
1. Iron Promote Immune system
Iron is an essential mineral in terms of immune building. In fighting factors that accelerate various infectious disease in the body, iron is highly involved. It does not just facilitate the production of red blood cells in your blood, but ensure repair of damaged tissues, cells and stopped furtherance of disease in the body. Incorporating adequate amount of iron daily allow your body form hemoglobin, which play active role in making your immune response stronger. Hemoglobin is the oxygen carrying protein of the red blood cells that transport oxygen from lungs to tissues, and entire body. Hence, having iron-rich diet in abundance is incredibly good for immunity.
2. Treat Insomnia
Low blood levels of iron has been associated to insomnia. Insomnia is the inability to sleep or sleeping disorder. Increasing your blood levels of iron can help treat insomnia. Consuming up to the recommended daily allowance of iron can systematically combat insomnia and provide a healthy sleep.
3. Enhance Brain’s Performance
One of the functions of eating iron enriched diet is the enhancement of brain’s performance. Brain coordinate, and perform better when there is normal flow of oxygenated blood in the brain. According to expert, that brain uses up to 20% of oxygen in the blood to prevent cognitive disorder and accelerate neural pathways which helps keeps problems such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia at bay. However, sourcing iron from either animal or plants source offers you not just only improvement of brain potency but overall well- being.
4. Promote Muscle Health
Reasonable amount of iron is stored in the muscle, this is because muscle tissues requires it for optimum functioning. In the muscle iron, it is said to help supply oxygen for effective contraction of the muscle. However, meeting up the recommended daily iron intake raise muscle elasticity and tone.
5. Prevent Anemia
To decrease appearances of anemia, iron rich foods is necessary due it prominent in fostering red blood cells production. An Anemic patients have very low red blood cells formation causing a daunting health issues. It is evident that children and pregnant women are more vulnerable to iron deficiency, making iron supplement a healthy approach to treat anemia.
6. Circulation Of Oxygen
Iron aid synthesis of hemoglobin which circulate oxygen from one part of the body to another for effective functioning of the body. Deficiency of iron decrease circulation of oxygen to the cells and organs. While consuming iron rich foods speed up proper supply of oxygen to the rest of the body.
7. Good For Pregnant women
It is generally believed that, at pregnant stage blood volume and red blood cells formation raises to provide the growing fectus with oxygen and nutrients. To compensate the needed red blood cells, iron is required; therefore opt for iron- rich diet. Since, deficiency of iron during pregnancy increase the risk of low birth weight, mental impairment, as well as premature birth. As a pregnant woman, eating enough iron -rich diet protect you from various disease during pregnancy.
8. Synthesis Of Neurotransmitters
Iron is required by enzymes involves in the production of hormones and neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine.
9. Treat Fatigue
Fatigue is described as lack of energy in the body. While iron is widely known for formation of red blood cells that contributes heavily to hemoglobin, the oxygen carrier. Normal blood volume allows the body to get required amount of nutrients and energy, meaning that fatigue and depression would be reduced.
10. Metabolic Functions
Iron as a cofactor is needed for many biochemical reactions in the body. Equally, iron-riched foods enables your body facilitate important enzymatic reactions, hormone and many other metabolic process.
Conclusion
You should keep in mind that iron participate in red cells production, and helps maintains, as well as reduce health problems.