EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Most of the 3 to 4 grams of elemental iron in adults is in hemoglobin [2]. Much of the remaining iron is stored in the form of ferritin or hemosiderin (a degradation product of ferritin) in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow or is located in myoglobin in muscle tissue [1, 5].

Detailed explanation-2: -The average adult male has about 1, 000 mg of stored iron (enough for about three years), whereas women on average have only about 300 mg (enough for about six months).

Detailed explanation-3: -Iron is a mineral that the body needs for growth and development. Your body uses iron to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body, and myoglobin, a protein that provides oxygen to muscles. Your body also needs iron to make some hormones.

Detailed explanation-4: -Two thirds of body iron is present in circulating red blood cells as hemoglobin. Each gram of hemoglobin contains 3.47 mg of iron; thus, each mL of blood lost from the body (hemoglobin 15 g/dL) results in a loss of 0.5 mg of iron.