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Iron is an essential mineral for our body. involved in various vital functions and an essential constituent of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen throughout the body with red blood cells. Some categories of people can become deficient in this substance more easily than others, including women of childbearing age and pregnant, the elderly and sportsmen and women. Our body is able to absorb only a small part of the iron introduced through food and absorption also depends on the type of food that is eaten, with important differences between the iron contained in foods of animal origin compared to those of vegetable origin — explains Giorgio Donegani, expert in nutrition and food technologist— Furthermore, iron intake is influenced by individual factors, including gender and age, but also by lifestyle and by some conditions, such as pregnancy, but also by gastrointestinal alterations which can lead to insufficient absorption.

Many foods are a source of iron but its form is not always the same. The iron “em” – a chemical form present in foods of animal origin, well absorbed by our body – from and on “non eme” iron – contained in vegetables and which is absorbed much less. Furthermore, throughout life the need for iron may vary and more may be needed (women of childbearing age, pregnancy, the elderly, frail individuals who often already have to deal with other pathologies. Among all categories of people, it is precisely the the elderly to be more deficient in various micronutrients, both for a question of age and because most of them are polypathological and therefore on therapy with various drugs for long periods.Among these, the frequent use of proton pump inhibitors and gastroprotectors which, for example, interfere with the absorption of iron – clarifies Cesare Liberali, General Practitioner -. The lack of iron and other vitamins and minerals is also due to the loneliness in which elderly people often find themselves: this leads to a difficulty, for example, in making balanced and complete meals that contain all the micronutrients the body needs. need. In any case, when an iron deficiency is found and we suspect a loss of this mineral we must always investigate the cause.

Inadequate intake of iron, increased daily requirement and need for nutritional supplementation are situations that not only concern women and the elderly, but also affect sportsmen, especially those who practice endurance sports. Those who train very intensely are more easily subject to iron deficiency or anemia due to the effect of oxidative stress induced by strong physical effort. In fact, a hormone intervenes, hepcidin, which by increasing its levels hinders the absorption of iron – points out Michele De Grandi, Specialist in Sports Medicine—. The symptoms associated with this deficiency lead to a progressive drop in power and aerobic resistance, as well as a slower recovery. From a pathophysiological point of view, hepcidin is stimulated by the inflammation produced by physical effort and, by increasing its level of concentration, prevents the correct assimilation of iron in the hours following training.

In general, those who have to resort to iron nutritional supplementation frequently come up against the difficulty of adhering to the treatment, which is not always regular and satisfactory: some aspects, such as the palatability of the product and the onset of digestive difficulties or heaviness typical of this mineral, represent the most frequent obstacles. Furthermore, subjects such as the elderly may present with swallowing difficulties and dysphagia and risk avoiding nutritional supplementation, even if necessary, for reasons related to the impracticality of taking them. For these problems, new formulations of iron have been developed such as those in orodispersible film, which dissolve rapidly in the mouth: they appear as a flexible sheet the size of a postage stamp which, once in contact with saliva, dissolves in a few tens of seconds.