Praktické lekárnictvo 4/2021

Pitfalls of iron supplementation (when less can be more)

Iron is an essential micronutrient, that plays an important role in human body. Even in 21th century, iron deficiency is the most common nutrition deficit. Iron in our diet is found in two different types: organic, heme iron (of animal origin) and inorganic, non-heme (of vegetable origin). In this article different pathways of absorption, affecting factors, together with short overview of typical adverse events during iron supplementation are summarized.

Keywords: heme iron, non-heme iron, absorption, adverse events