eli5 is blood iron and metal iron the same? what are the differences
In: Biology
Your body can absorb metallic iron somewhat. It’s possible to supplement iron in food by [cooking acidic foods in, or with, cast iron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_iron_fish).
However, iron in your body is carried around in a chemical structure called [heme (or haem)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heme). Iron that is already “packaged up” in heme is easier for your body to use than metallic iron. The iron in red meat, and in legumes (beans and peas) is in heme, but most of the iron in spinach is not.
(“Heme” rhymes with “meme”. In your body, it’s found in hemoglobin, myoglobin, and other proteins that carry oxygen.)
The imitation meat in [Impossible Burger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_Foods#Technology_and_food_safety) uses soybean heme proteins, grown in genetically modified yeast cells, as a replacement for the myoglobin heme protein in meat.
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