How Important Are Iron Stores For Our Body?

Author: Leticia Celentano Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

How Important Are Iron Stores For Our Body?

With bleeding and profuse sweating, our body loses significant amounts of its iron stores

Once in the body, regardless of the shape of the ions, iron is stored in enterocytes (intestinal cells that carry out the absorption of nutrients). Here, iron is stored as a reserve or can be transported by special molecules to the bloodstream, from where it can reach any part of the body.

Our body is able to store small amounts of iron in the form of ferritin and hemosiderin. These forms of storage of iron provide the body's needs for iron when the intake of the mineral through food is insufficient or the body's needs are increased.

Other storage areas for iron stores are the liver, bone marrow and spleen. Ferritin is a more common form of iron storage. Storage of iron in the form of hemosiderin is observed in excessive iron intake. Excess amounts of the element accumulate as reserves, but can also cause harm to the body. Iron in large quantities causes oxidative stress.

The amount of iron stores can vary widely between men and women. In women at high risk of iron deficiency, the reserve can vary between 300 and 1000 mg. Iron stores in men are between 500 and 1500 mg. Women of childbearing age have the highest risk of iron deficiency due to monthly loss during menstruation.

The needs for iron during pregnancy increase, which requires the intake of foods rich in the element, and if necessary, additional supplementation with iron products.

How our body controls the total amount of iron in the body. There are three main mechanisms by which our body regulates iron homeostasis:

Absorption level regulation. The absorption of iron through the small intestine depends on the levels of iron in the body, the needs of the body, the intake of other products that may affect the absorption.
Iron loss. The main mechanism by which iron is lost is the replacement of enterocytes. Every 3 to 6 days, the intestinal cells change, which leads to the expulsion of iron from the body. Iron is also lost through blood loss (menstruation, blood donation, trauma) and sweat. Athletes also have increased needs for iron during active training.
Storage of iron in the body. Accumulated iron allows the body to stay healthy until normal mineral intake is restored. A large amount of iron in the body comes from hemoglobin, which is part of the old erythrocytes (their life is about 120 days)

How Important Are Iron Stores For Our Body?

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