Of all the minerals your body needs for optimal health, iron is abundant and found in every cell. In fact, the average adult has about 3 to 4 g of iron in the body.
You might say that iron lives up to its name with all the “heavy lifting” it does in your body, especially in the role of transporting oxygen around your body.
If your iron levels get low, it can cause all kinds of issues, so maintaining healthy levels is important.
People in ancient civilizations seemed to know this instinctively and ate a variety of iron-rich foods as staples of their diet, like red meats, organ meats and shellfish. In regions where iron rich soils are prevalent, crops like beans, lentils, and leafy greens were commonly consumed.
Scientists first discovered iron in the human body over 300 years ago. About 130 years later, in 1840, they started uncovering the secrets of hemoglobin, the number one destination of iron in the human body.
While your body uses iron for all kinds of biological processes, from supporting healthy immune function to maintaining healthy nails, its biggest role by far is in maintaining healthy blood.
How Iron Does the Heavy Lifting in Managing Oxygen in Your Body
About 70% of your body's iron resides in two important proteins that manage how oxygen works in your body – hemoglobin and myoglobin.
Hemoglobin plays the key role in transporting oxygen around your body, moving it from your lungs to the rest of your body and ensuring your tissues and organs get the oxygen they need to function effectively.
Myoglobin plays the key role in storing oxygen for your muscles to use, which is particularly important when your muscles are active.
Your body requires four iron atoms to make each hemoglobin molecule, and one to make each myoglobin molecule.
Hemoglobin makes up about 95% of the dry weight of your oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Because oxygen is essential for all your cellular functions, and hemoglobin carries oxygen, iron is essential for maintaining healthy energy levels.
Because of its role in myoglobin, iron is also essential for athletes and individuals who engage in regular physical activity. Without adequate iron, muscles can't get enough oxygen to work well.
Not only does iron help in oxygen transport, it also assists in removing carbon dioxide, the waste gas produced when your body uses oxygen.
By maintaining healthy iron levels, you help ensure your body can use oxygen and remove carbon dioxide efficiently, for improved vitality and reduced fatigue.
4 More Ways Your Body Needs Iron for Optimal Health
In addition to its maestro role in oxygen transport, iron is required for many other functions in your body. Here are just five of its important functions in your body:
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Cognitive Function
Low iron levels can contribute to decline in cognitive function and make focusing difficult. With the right levels of iron, oxygen can be transported efficiently. Proper oxygenation of brain tissues is essential for mental alertness and concentration. Therefore, iron plays an important role in brain health and cognitive function.
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Immune System Support
Because iron and immunity are closely linked, you need iron for your immune system to properly function. White blood cells work as scavenger cells in the body in the presence of pathogens, and use iron to effectively do so.
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Pregnancy and Fetal Development
Anemia affects 36% of pregnant women across the world and of these women 40% is due to iron deficiency. During pregnancy, the demand for iron increases significantly to support the growth and development of the fetus. Getting adequate dietary iron is crucial in pregnant women to ensure proper fetal development.
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Healthy Skin, Hair, and Nails
Iron is important for the health of your skin, hair, and nails. Insufficient iron can lead to brittle nails, hair loss, and pale skin. The epidermis of your skin plays an active role in the iron balance in your body.
Maintaining healthy iron levels impacts functions all throughout your body. Let’s take a look at some of the best dietary sources of iron.
Include These Delicious Foods in Your Diet to Boost Your Daily Iron Intake
Whole foods are always the best source of the nutrients your body needs. Fortunately, there are plenty of tasty ways to get iron in your diet.
Try adding these foods that are high in iron to your diet to support healthy iron intake:
| Food |
Serving Size |
Iron Content |
% Daily Value |
| Lentils |
1 cup, cooked |
6.6 mg |
37% |
| Beef Liver |
3.5 oz |
6.5 mg |
36% |
| Dark Chocolate |
1 oz |
3.4 mg |
19% |
| Shellfish |
3.5 oz |
3 mg |
17% |
| Quinoa |
1 cup |
2.8 mg |
16% |
| Spinach |
3.5 oz, raw |
2.7 mg |
15% |
| Ground beef |
3.5 oz |
2.7 mg |
15% |
| Pumpkin seeds |
1 oz |
2.5 mg |
14% |
| Turkey |
3.5 oz |
1.4 mg |
8% |
It’s important to note that there are two types of dietary iron – heme, or ferrous iron, which is found in meats, and non-heme, or ferric iron, which is found in plants.
Heme iron is easily absorbed by your body, while non-heme iron requires the assistance of vitamin C for absorption. That’s why we include vitamin C in Iron from Organic Curry.
Biodynamic Sourcing and Chemical-Free Extraction Set This Iron Supplement Apart
Used in a wide variety of dishes, the leaves of the curry tree (Murraya koenigii) are an important part of South Indian cuisine. But don’t confuse the leaves with the curry powder used in Indian cooking – that’s a special blend of spices.
The curry tree is a small, bushy tree with shiny dark green leaves that grows between 13 feet and 20 feet high.
These leaves are an excellent source of iron which can be safely, cleanly extracted using nothing more than water… like the process our supplier uses to produce Iron from Organic Curry.
Our supplier – a globally recognized leader in sustainable herbal extracts – starts with curry leaves grown on their Biodynamic® farm in South India.
Iron is extracted from these rich, dark leaves using a simple water extraction process, then spray dried with no carrier, keeping the process chemical-free.
To maximize bioavailability, we combine this clean-sourced iron with vitamin C from amla fruit grown on the very same Biodynamic® farm for Iron from Organic Curry.
Amla is a round, yellow-green fruit about the size and appearance of a large grape. It’s also called the “Indian gooseberry.” Just half of cup of these juicy berries provides about 300 mg of vitamin C – more than twice the recommended daily amount for adults.
Our supplier uses the same water extraction and spray drying process to cleanly extract the rich stores of vitamin C from the amla.
Vitamin C and iron work together to maximize your body’s absorption…
How Vitamin C Helps Iron Get into Your Cells For Maximum Benefit
First you need to know that iron in food comes in two types: heme (ferrous iron) and non-heme (ferric iron).
Heme iron, which comes from proteins in animal foods, is easily absorbed and largely unaffected by other foods you eat at the same meal.
Non-heme iron, on the other hand, is greatly influenced by the foods you eat it with. And non-heme iron is the main kind of iron in your diet.
This is where vitamin C comes in – it plays a key role in helping your body absorb iron more effectively.
When vitamin C and non-heme iron are consumed together, they undergo a chemical reaction that forms a special bond called an iron chelate complex. Here’s how it works:
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Vitamin C donates an electron to the non-heme iron, turning it into heme iron.
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The new heme iron atom forms bonds with the oxygen atoms in vitamin C, creating the iron chelate complex.
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This iron complex is more stable and more soluble in your small intestine than the original non-heme iron.
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This bond makes iron dissolve better in your small intestine, allowing your body to absorb more.
Vitamin C plays an important role in boosting the amount of non-heme iron your body absorbs. One study found that taking 100 mg of vitamin C with a meal can increase how much iron your body absorbs by 67%.
We include vitamin C from Biodynamic® amla fruit in our Iron from Organic Curry to make sure you get the maximum benefit from iron.
Why We Source Our Curry Leaves and Amla Fruit from Biodynamic® Orchards
Nearly a century ago, a group of German farmers started to notice that chemical farming was causing damage to crops and the earth. Out of concern, they got together and developed a set of standards designed to protect healthy, life-sustaining agriculture.
Calling their approach to farming biodynamic, they named their organization after Demeter, the Greek Goddess of the Harvest.
Biodynamic® agriculture has a lot in common with organic agriculture. Like organic, it doesn’t use any synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.
But it goes even deeper, with Biodynamic® farmers focusing on the goal of regenerating and maximizing soil fertility and ultimately making a farm completely self-sustaining.
Biodynamic® farmers like our supplier emphasize following the cycles of nature and returning life back to the soil. They do this by planting a diversity of crops and working to ensure all inputs (such as natural fertilizers, natural pest controls) come from within the farm.
Biodynamic® farming regenerates soil degraded by chemicals, drawing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it into the ground, reinvigorating life on the planet from the soil up.
We source the curry leaves and amla fruit for our Iron from Organic Curry from a dedicated biodynamic farm bringing you the cleanest source of iron and vitamin C available – and to do our part by helping restore life and vitality to the planet.
Harness the Strength of Iron from Organic Curry for Full-Body Health*
Iron is truly a “heavy lifter” when it comes to supporting health throughout your body.
From your hair to your toenails and everywhere in between, iron works to make sure your organs have enough oxygen, your white blood cells keeping your immune system in check and your skin is strong and healthy.
We’re pleased to bring you our unique formula, Iron from Organic Curry, utilizing iron from Biodynamic® curry leaves and vitamin C from Biodynamic® Amla fruit.
Iron from Organic Curry can help support healthy:
- Red blood cell and hemoglobin production*
- Energy levels*
- Cognitive function*
- Immune function*
- Skin, hair and nails*
- Exercise endurance and performance*
Sourced from biodynamic orchards, you can be sure it’s unadulterated by residues from agricultural chemicals.
Standardized to 7.5 mg iron and 50 mg vitamin C per serving, you can take it with confidence knowing you’re getting what’s on the label.
Support your healthy energy levels, endurance, cognition, immune function, hair and nails with iron from Demeter® Certified Biodynamic® curry leaves. Order Iron from Organic Curry today.