Can eating spinach really supplement iron? How do you replenish the human body's trace elements such as iron, copper, zinc, chromium, molybdenum, selenium, iodine and cobalt?

In our daily life, have you also heard the saying that spinach is rich in iron and can make people strong and healthy?

So does eating spinach really help supplement iron? Some experts point out that relying on spinach to meet the human body's need for iron is not reliable,

because only a quarter of the iron in spinach can be utilised, which is not necessarily better than ordinary vegetables. So relying on eating spinach to supplement iron is not a good method. Speaking of supplementing iron, what does this "iron" refer to? Here "iron" refers to iron, an essential trace element for the human body. Besides this, do you know about these common trace elements?

Trace elements are so called in contrast to macro elements. Generally speaking, biologically active substances that are essential to living organisms but required only in very small amounts are trace elements, such as iron, copper, zinc, chromium, molybdenum, selenium, iodine and cobalt. So, do you know what roles the trace elements in the human body play? How should these trace elements be supplemented?

The roles of trace elements

Iron stores and transports oxygen. Iron deficiency can lead to iron-deficiency anaemia, a decline in resistance to infection, and susceptibility to lead poisoning.

Foods rich in iron include animal blood, liver, chicken gizzards, beef kidney, black fungus, soybeans and sesame paste. In particular, the iron contained in animal blood is the easiest for the human body to absorb.

Iodine can promote energy metabolism and physical and brain development. Iodine deficiency can cause thyroid enlargement.

Iodine is abundantly present in seafood, such as kelp, shellfish, nori, as well as artificially iodised iodised salt.

Zinc can strengthen the immune capacity of the body's immune system. It is related to taste, smell and immunity, can regulate cell differentiation and gene expression, and maintain the structure and function of biological membranes. Zinc deficiency can inhibit growth, lower the human body's immune function, and also cause dulled taste and smell, stunted growth, incomplete development of sexual characteristics and so on.

Lean meat, pork liver, chicken liver, egg yolk and kelp are all rich in zinc, and the zinc content in fish, shrimp and oysters is the richest.

Copper is very important for some physiological functions of the human body, such as the formation of red blood cells, the absorption of iron, the formation of connective tissue and support for the immune system.

The human body cannot synthesise copper by itself, so it must be ingested through diet. Shellfish, green leafy vegetables, mushrooms, nuts and beans are rich in copper.

Selenium has antioxidant, anti-tumour and immunity-promoting effects, and can prevent diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Selenium deficiency can cause Keshan disease (also known as endemic cardiomyopathy), Kashin-Beck disease or myocardial lesions.

Foods such as grains, eggs and fish contain large amounts of selenium.

Trace elements need to be balanced among themselves. Therefore, we should supplement them scientifically and reasonably, and we cannot supplement everything. We should supplement whatever we are deficient in, otherwise it will be counterproductive.