It is very useful for your health to take essential amount of iron. If your body has low stores of iron and your diet plan includes to little iron which is necessary for forming red blood cells it may lead to the development of iron deficiency anemia. People suffering from this disease feel themselves tired, irritable and can't concentrate. Iron deficiency anemia in children influences on their behaviour and development. In fact it is the most common nutritional eficiency in the world. At least 500 million people in the world suffer from this iron deficiency.
There are a lot of foods which are rich in iron and if people eat a wide range of foods their needs for this essential nutrients are satisfied. It should be mentioned that iron which comes from animal sources (haem iron) is better absorbed than iron from plant sources (non-haem iron). About 15% of iron in diets which include meat or fish is absorbed by your body. There are various factors in food which can affect on the absorption of non-haem iron. Such elements as phytates (in cereals and pulses), fibre, tannins (in tea and coffee) and calcium have the ability to bind non-haem iron which lowers the absorption of this element. The absorption of non-haem iron can be increased by taking Vitamin C. That's why it is crucial to consume foods rich in Vitamin C such as vegetables, salad, orange juice. They will improve the iron absorption. But you should avoid drinking tea and coffee with meals. It is also possible to increase the absorption of iron by eating meat.  Iron Levels in Diet
Today most television ads clain that people are in big danger from not having enough iron in our diets.
Low iron levels in your body can lead to serious health problems but this risk generally doesn't affect many Americans. In fact, Americans may be at risk of taking too much iron.
The study held in New Jersey revealed that even elderly Americans – who generally have low iron levels - have plenty of iron in their blood. Only about 3 percent of the thousand people have low iron levels, while 13 percent had excessive amount of this element in their body. It has been also discovered that even people suffering from anemia have plenty of iron in their blood. However there are also other problems which can interfere with iron absorption. Excessive amount of iron in the organism may be almost as harmful as too little iron. It has beed proved that there is a connection between excess stored iron in the body and conditions like heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas explains that most Americans include a lot of iron in their diets by taking fortified grains, red meat and some vegetables. Pregnant women, women of childbearing age, vegetarians and people with certain medical conditions require more iron. It is very important to consult your doctor and find out if you need iron supplements or if you're getting all the iron you need.
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