Do you know how much iron is in our body? While it’s not a lot, the total amount may surprise you.
The consumption of iron in our diets is very important. Iron is a mineral that is most commonly seen in the construction and mining industry, yet it’s something we all consume. The amount that we include in our diet is only very small, but it’s vital to our very existence. Iron is part of a protein called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin, and the iron it contains helps transport the oxygen around the body. But its benefits don’t stop there. Iron helps our muscles use and store oxygen, and it also aids in the digestion of foods. In fact, if you lack sufficient levels of iron in your diet or body you will suffer from the serious condition called anemia. Easily preventable and treatable, some side effects include fatigue, poor memory recall, preterm labor (pregnancies) and delayed mental development in infants.
How much iron is in our body?
So clearly iron is important to us, and without it our life would be pretty crappy. So it begs the question. With all this iron consumption, how much iron is in our body? In the grand scale of things, it’s not a real lot. However, if you were to collect every molecule and put them all together you’d be able to literally construct something of use. That’s because the average human body contains four to five grams of iron in it which is essential to life. That four to five grams of iron is enough iron to make a 7.5 cm (3 inch) nail.
Now that’s a fact that you can hammer home.
