In article <[email hidden]>,
Sam the Bam said:
When I was in high school, during chem lab, a girl
swallowed a spoonful of iron filings. Seems the doc
told her she was suffering from iron deficiency...
She had to be rushed to ER, and a stomach pump.
Now, as bizarre as that sounds, it makes a certain sense.
We need iron, and it must come from our diet, so why not
eat the metal? My question is, if that's not kosher, how
does the body extract it from the meat? It has to be
converted to its elemental form eventually, yes/no?
No, it doesn't have to be converted to its elemental form. In the body
it's used as ferrous ion, Fe++. AFAIK, this is the normal case in most
living things, although some critters form microscopic iron nodules in
organs used to detect magnetic fields. I don't recall whether these
are metallic iron, or a mineral like magnetite. Probably the latter.
Btw, there are many foods of vegetable origin that contain substantial
amounts of available iron, so it isn't necessary to eat meat to obtain it.
Quoted message said:Anyone here an expert in GI tract chemistry?
If you eat iron, it will be dissolved in your stomach acid at least
somewhat, but swallowing a spoonful of sharp particles contaminated
with who knows what is a bad idea.
There used to be a folk remedy for anemia that involved sticking some
nails in an apple, leaving it overnight, then eating it in the
morning. Nails these days are coated with things that are bad
for you, so don't do this. When most cookpots were cast iron, food
cooked in them acquired some iron that people could use.
