Did you know? 10 interesting facts about red blood cells and iron

1. About a quarter of the cells in your body are red blood cells.
    
2. You have billions of them! Men have an average of 5.2 million red blood cells per cubic millimetre and women have an average of 4.6 million.
    
3. Blood cells only last for 100-120 days in the body once they’re matured. This is why it is important to ensure you have an adequate intake of blood-building iron every day.
    
4. The iron that you consume firstly travels to your bone marrow, where red blood cells are stored. Any extra iron you consume is stored in the liver for later use.
   Women who are menstruating lose iron each month and therefore may have higher requirements.
    
5. Vitamin B12 ( which aids with blood formation ) is found in meat and dairy products, which is why it can be important for vegans and vegetarians to take a supplement which includes B12.
    
6. A shortage of iron causes your bone marrow to make smaller red blood cells which contain less haemoglobin. These small cells carry less oxygen through the body.
    
7. Iron is the most abundant metals on Earth; it’s also the integral part of many proteins and enzymes that maintain good health and energy.
    
8. The World Health Organisation considers iron deficiency the No 1 global nutritional deficiency as it’s believed that as many as 80% of the world’s population may be iron deficient.
    
9. Healthy adults absorb about 10-15% of dietary iron, individual absorption is influenced by factors such as the body’s iron stores.
    
10. There are two main sources of iron in the diet:
    • Heme iron comes from meat and fish and is well absorbed by the body. Cooked chicken liver, oysters and beef are excellent sources of heme iron.
    • Non-heme iron normally comes from plant sources and is less absorbed than heme iron. Excellent sources of non-heme iron include fortified cereal, oatmeal, tofu and beans.