Healthy eating: How much iron do you need?.

Iron deficiency is a serious health problem, which often manifests as exhaustion. There are many unknown symptoms of iron deficiency that one has to know about. Iron is a nutrient, but it is an extremely important mineral for our body. It helps to transport oxygen throughout our body.

Dr Subhaprakash Sanyal, director hematology and BMT dept at Fortis Hospital Mulund says iron is an important component of hemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen from lungs to transport it throughout your body. “Hemoglobin represents about two-thirds of the body’s iron. If you don’t have enough iron, your body can’t make enough healthy oxygen-carrying red blood cells. A lack of red blood cells is called iron deficiency anemia.”

According to the doctor, anemia — a result of iron deficiency — has been a major public health burden in India. “The incidence of anemia is as much as 53.2 per cent among women and 21.7 per cent among men,” says Dr Sanyal, adding that one can treat iron deficiency anemia with supplements. “Once your iron levels go up, you should start to feel better.”