ron is a funny mineral. It seems like men get too much of it in their diets and women of child-bearing age don't get enough. Iron is an important nutrient for everyone, but your age, sex, and activity level determine how much you really need.

Iron is what we in the nutrition world call a trace mineral, meaning you only need a little bit of it, yet iron deficiency is a wide-spread problem all over the world. More women have iron deficiency than men, due to monthly blood loss during child-bearing years, which is the reason for their increased iron needs. In men, iron overload is twice as prevalent as iron deficiency, but toxicity is usually due to a genetic disorder called hemochromatosis, the most common genetic disorder in the US (affecting about 1.5 million people). Taking excess supplementary iron can cause toxicity as well. Iron overload can damage the liver, heart and other organs, eventually leading to diabetes, liver disease, heart failure, and arthritis.

Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia, on the other hand, affects up to 10% of Americans, and is usually due to inadequate dietary iron combined with blood loss or a fast rate of growth, as in pregnancy or in growing children. Therefore, those most at risk are children, menstruating women, pregnant women, dieters, and athletes, especially long distance runners and high-impact endurance athletes. Symptoms of anemia (widely known as "tired blood") include feeling deeply tired, weak, and short of breath. A weakened immune system is also common. In infants, children and adolescents, iron deficiency can affect brain development and impair learning capacity. Iron is in every cell in our bodies. It is the part of hemoglobin that binds oxygen and carries it from your lungs to your muscles, which explains why you would feel tired and weak if you were iron deficient; you would also be oxygen deficient. Hemoglobin also carries iron to your bone marrow to produce new red blood cells. Anemia takes a long time to develop and along the way, a person will experience more extreme levels of deficiency. Anemia is treated with iron supplements prescribed by a doctor, while a deficiency may just be corrected with dietary changes. Never self-treat your iron deficiency or anemia; see a doctor for proper treatment.

Eating a varied and balanced diet is one of the most important things you can do to prevent deficiencies of all nutrients, but with iron, there are some important dietary tricks that you should know to help you make the most of what you're eating. Iron is not readily absorbed and used by our bodies; only 2-35% of the iron you eat is absorbed by your body. The following are some tips for getting the most iron from your foods:

• Eat vitamin C with your iron-rich foods because iron can't be absorbed without it
• Eat animal iron sources with plant iron sources (see table)
• Drink coffee, tea, and wine between meals instead of with meals because their tannins bind to iron
• Don't have a calcium-rich meal with an iron-rich meal, and don't take a calcium supplement with an iron-rich meal because they compete with each other for binding sites
• The chart below lists foods that are very good sources of iron, but keep in mind that whole grains, dried fruit, and vegetables all contain some iron Like I said before, eating a balanced diet should help protect you from an iron deficiency, but knowing these little tricks could help enhance the absorption of what you're already eating.

  Iron Requirements Age Milligrams (mg)/day 1-3 7 4-8 10 9-13 8 Males   14-18 11 19-70+ 8 Females   14-18 15 19-50 18 51-70+ 8 Pregnant 27

  Good Sources of Iron Food Iron (mg)/serving Calories Canned clams 23 mg/3 oz 125 Tofu, firm 7mg/1/2 c 90 Pumpkin seeds 4.5 mg/1 oz 150 Blackstrap molasses 3.5 mg/1 Tbsp 50 Lentils, cooked 3.5 mg/1/2 c 110 White kidney beans, cooked 3.5mg/1/2 c 125 Beef sirloin 3 mg/3 oz 170 Fortified breakfast cereals 3-18 mg/1 oz variable Red kidney beans 2.5 mg/1/2 c 110 Shrimp, boiled 2.5 mg/3 oz 85 Extra lean ground sirloin 2 mg/3 oz 150 Artichoke, cooked 1.5 mg/1 item 60 Edamame, shelled 1.5 mg/1/2 c 100 Barley, cooked 1 mg/1/2 c 95 Most nuts 1 mg/ 1 oz 170 Chicken, skinless 1 mg/3 oz 150

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  The nutrition recommendations found in our newsletters are general in nature and are not tailored to specific health problems. Talk to your physician or other qualified health care practitioner concerning particular health issues or before beginning any nutritional program.