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Samuel Yoo Abstract Several of years before, some patient showed up with symptoms that doctors had never ever seen before. They did some chemical testing and found an abnormal amount of iron in them. Later they found an abnormal amount of iron in their blood. They did more test and found out that iron cannot be easily removed from the body. As the time went by, the symptoms were recorded and separated into four stages depending on their severity. At first people were confused why iron was dangerous then later found out that iron has caused the body to react differently which will disrupt the homeostasis of the body. Children are also at risk because their body can’t take out iron out of their body as much as the adults. Introduction Iron is one the most useful mineral there is. The human body uses it for producing red blood cells. Without it, we will have hard time breathing because the lack of the red blood cells with the hemoglobin. We will also feel dizzy and have frequent fatigues. The immune system will also go down thus giving way to disease. In the body, iron is located in myoglobin which is an oxygen-carrying protein in the muscle that promotes cell growth. The rest of the iron is located in the hemoglobin to help carry the oxygen. About 15 percent of a human body’s iron is stored for future needs and mobilized when dietary intake is inadequate.
There is iron in almost in every food we normally eat. The iron we eat comes in two types; heme and nonheme. Heme iron comes in meat, poultry, and fish. This type of iron is easily absorbed by the body and will not have that much difficulty. The nonheme iron comes in beans and other kinds of lentils. Unlike the heme irons, the nonheme is not easily absorbed. Grains and flour products are good source for nonheme irons.
Iron absorption of the body varies from what kind of iron you eat and how well your digestive system is. These factors could help or linger the digestion of the iron. Some foods also help to absorbs iron better. For example, eating certain kind of soy products would boost up your absorption of nonheme iron.
However, if it comes in abundant forms, iron could be lethal and fatal. It affects the central nervous system, digestive system, and the excretory system. Excess iron is excreted very little at a time thus increasing a chance of iron buildup. It could bind to the organs and muscle giving them more oxygen then they need. This will cause an imbalance and your body would not be used to it.
We should be able to find a medicine which will prevent iron build up in our body. It could burn the excess iron that we do not need. If we get this then the iron fatality would claim less lives. Or, if it’s possible, make a mineral which has the same effect as iron but will easily be excreted if come in large amounts. This will greatly help young children and adults who have bad excretory system.
The doctors should inform everyone about lethal iron overdose. In stage one, most people do not know that they have excess iron in their body and will proceed to the next stage. If informed, the patient could admit themselves to the hospital and we help them. The media should emphasis about iron fatality because it is very dangerous in little children and handicapped people. Lethal iron overdose should not be taken lightly as now.
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