eli5: Why do we need iron as a nutrient? I understand iron as a metal. Why do we need to consume it?
In: 7
Hemoglobin is the big one- it’s the part of your blood that oxygen combines with, so that it can be given out to your body’s cells.
But WHY iron? It’s a metal that combines and releases oxygen relatively easy compared to other chemicals. There’s oxygen in the sugar in your body, and basically in every part, but it doesn’t get released easily when it’s part of other chemicals. So iron fills in somewhat of a niche role here.
Interestingly enough, for life in general it doesn’t HAVE to be iron. Horseshoe crabs have hemocyanin- a chemical that binds copper to oxygen.
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