Iron Man Marvel Superhero Store and Stories

We have all grown up with images of Popeye the Sailor Man. All he needed to do to become strong, really strong, was to eat spinach. The story of Popeye has been used by many generations of mothers to get their children to eat this most unpopular of vegetables. Leaving the comic book exaggeration aside, there is no doubt that spinach is good for the body. Many of us also know that the reason why it is good is because it contains iron. But our knowledge stops there. Few of us know why iron is not just good but essential for the growth and health of the body.

We also know that proteins are essential for the body. They give us energy. Sportsmen consume high protein diets, like pasta, especially before a sporting event. Two staples needed for the body, iron and proteins. But how many of us know the close connection between the two and how they function and interact to contribute to our physical well being. Lets have a look.

The human body needs iron to make hemoglobin and []tagmyoglobin[/tag]. These are proteins that carry oxygen through the body. Food, water and air are the essentials of life. You can live a few days without food or water, but not even 5 minutes without air. And the part of air that you body needs is oxygen. Hemoglobin is found in the blood and myoglobin is in the muscles. Iron is also needed for the muscle building and regeneration process. Free iron is not good for the body as it assists in the formation of disease causing free radicals. Organisms therefore store the iron as ferritin which is bound to various tissues and is thus controlled by the body. The largest concentration of ferritin bound iron is found the liver, the spleen and bone marrow. The body uses up iron and it needs to be constantly replaced through a proper diet. The liver has the ability to store some excess iron which is available to the body to make up for a temporary shortage.

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: high protein diets, hemoglobin, ferritin