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Please expound the relationship between a kind of minerals and health from the following aspects: introduction, function, metabolism, deficiency and toxicity, prevention, food sources and recommended intake.​

User NIrav Modi
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Answer:

Example: Iron micronutrient

- Absorption: duodenal enterocytes

- Functions: DNA synthesis, cellular respiration (constitutes the heme group in hemoglobin, cytochromes), part of the prosthetic group required for many enzymes, etc.

- Metabolism: recycled by cells of the reticuloendothelial system (macrophages), and distributed in different proteins (e.g., myoglobin, cytochromes)

- Iron deficiency: anemia

- Toxicity: corrosive effects on the gastrointestinal mucosa

- Food sources: fortified cereals, red meat, beans, nuts, dried fruits,

soybean flour.

-Recommended intake: 8 mg per day in men and 18 mg per day in women (age 18-50)

Step-by-step explanation:

Iron is a key micronutrient that has many roles in different cellular processes (e.g., DNA synthesis, cellular respiration, etc). Iron is absorbed in the duodenum (i.e., the first part of the small intestine), specifically in duodenal enterocytes. This micronutrient is recycled by the reticuloendothelial system, i.e., phagocytic cells such as macrophages that phagocytize senescent red blood cells, there is no regulatory mechanism to excrete iron. Iron deficiency leads to anemia, which is a disease that occurs when blood lacks adequate red blood cells to carry oxygen to the tissues. Iron toxicity may have corrosive effects on the gastrointestinal mucosa, whose symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, hematemesis, diarrhea, hypovolemia. The main food sources of iron are as follows: red meat, beans (e.g., red kidney beans), nuts, iron-fortified cereals, soybean flour, etc. The daily recommended iron intake is 8 mg per day for men and 18 mg per day for women (age 19-50 years).

User Andy Robertson
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