NTDT200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Eruca Sativa, Red Meat, Hepcidin
15 Apr 2019
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Function: iron is an essential mineral to the human body primarily used for blood production. Iron is used in the formation of oxygen-carrying proteins like hemoglobin and myoglobin. Hemoglobin can be found in red blood cells which carry oxygen from the lungs to the body. While myoglobin is carries oxygen to muscle tissue. Iron is delivered to tissues by circulating transferrin, a transporter that captures iron released into the plasma mainly from the small intestine. Hepcidin is a circulating peptide hormone secreted by the liver that plays the central role in regulating iron homeostasis. Animal proteins such as milk proteins, egg proteins, and albumin, have been shown to inhibit iron absorption. The iron in shellfish is heme iron, which your body absorbs more easily than the non-heme iron found in plants. Dark leafy greens: includes spinach, arugula, kale, bok choy, etc. Dark leafy greens provide an abundant amount of vitamins and minerals along with iron and also contains important antioxidants.
