Random Ferrous Questions!

[Collin152]

Alright, community, it's time once again for one of my bizzare series of questions.

Does anybody know how much iron the human body can ingest before it's unhealthy?

Is there a reasonably safe way to replicate the taste of iron?

How thick is blood in the body?
Okay, so the last one has little to do with iron, but they are all working towards the same idea of mine.

[Dallas-Dakota]

The likes of these questions I ask in : Get to know a playgrounder , when I have a urge to ask them.

[SurlySeraph]

Alright, community, it's time once again for one of my bizzare series of questions.

Does anybody know how much iron the human body can ingest before it's unhealthy?

Is there a reasonably safe way to replicate the taste of iron?

How thick is blood in the body?
Okay, so the last one has little to do with iron, but they are all working towards the same idea of mine.


Excessive iron can be toxic, because free ferrous iron reacts with peroxides to produce free radicals, which are highly reactive and can damage DNA, proteins, lipids, and other cellular components. Thus, iron toxicity occurs when there is free iron in the cell, which generally occurs when iron levels exceed the capacity of transferrin to bind the iron.

Iron uptake is tightly regulated by the human body, which has no regulated physiological means of excreting iron. Only small amounts of iron are lost daily due to mucosal and skin epithelial cell sloughing, so control of iron levels is mostly by regulating uptake.[24] However, large amounts of ingested iron can cause excessive levels of iron in the blood because high iron levels can damage the cells of the gastrointestinal tract, preventing them from regulating iron absorption. High blood concentrations of iron damage cells in the heart, liver and elsewhere, which can cause serious problems, including long-term organ damage and even death.

Humans experience iron toxicity above 20 milligrams of iron for every kilogram of mass, and 60 milligrams per kilogram is a lethal dose.[25] Over-consumption of iron, often the result of children eating large quantities of ferrous sulfate tablets intended for adult consumption, is one of the most common toxicological causes of death in children under six.[25] The DRI lists the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for adults as 45 mg/day. For children under fourteen years old the UL is 40 mg/day.

So there you have it. 45 milligrams of iron per day is the most that you can ingest.

As for a reasonably safe way to replicate the taste... I dunno, walk around with a piece of iron on your tongue, but don't swallow it?

On blood thickness, I have no idea. I'm pretty sure it isn't constant, though, and is affected by how hydrated you are.

[Amiria]

You shouldn't have watched the Iron Man movie 20 times in the past few weeks. :smalltongue:

[Collin152]

You shouldn't have watched the Iron Man movie 20 times in the past few weeks. :smalltongue:

I still need to see that, actually...


Oh, and by replicatign the taste, I mean...
What tastes like iron that... isn't iron?

[Ceska]

Is there a reasonably safe way to replicate the taste of iron?
Biting your lips would be the easiest way. And at least to me that counts as reasonably safe since the damage done is minor.

[Mr. Moon]

How to taste it? Easy, just stab someone and drink the blood that comes out. Works for me. :smalltongue:

[Don Julio Anejo]

You can also chew on a nail. Just don't swallow it, you'll get your esophagus and stomach all bleeding from iron poisoning.

[sktarq]

Swallowing a nail isn't nessearily that bad. My friend had a nail through his tongue and swallowed it. Didn't hurt him. He ended up getting it autoclaved and put it back in. But really it isn't worth the risk.

[Collin152]

How to taste it? Easy, just stab someone and drink the blood that comes out. Works for me. :smalltongue:

See, that's what I'm trying to avoid.
Consumption of blood isn't very healthy, but it tastes so damn good...
Or so I've heard... <.< >.> <.<

[ForzaFiori]

The viscosity of plasma is about 1.8-times the viscosity of water (termed relative viscosity) at 37°C and is related to the protein composition of the plasma.

Whole blood has a relative viscosity of 3-4 depending upon hematocrit, temperature, and flow rate.

The viscosity of whole blood is strongly influenced by three factors: hematocrit, temperature and flow as described below.

1.Hematocrit is an important determinant of the viscosity of blood. As hematocrit increases, there is a disproportionate increase in viscosity. For example, at a hematocrit of 40%, the relative viscosity is 4. At a hematocrit of 60%, the relative viscosity is about 8. Therefore, a 50% increase in hematocrit from a normal value increases blood viscosity by about 100%. Such changes in hematocrit and blood viscosity occur in a patients with polycythemia.

2.Temperature also has a significant effect on viscosity. As temperature
decreases, viscosity increases. Viscosity increases approximate 2% for each °C decrease in temperature. This effect has several implications. For example, when a person's hand is cooled by exposure to a cold environment, the increase in blood viscosity contributes to the decrease in blood flow (along with neural-mediated thermoregulatory mechanisms that constrict the vessels). The use of whole body hypothermia during certain surgical procedures also increases blood viscosity and therefore increases resistance to blood flow.

3.The flow rate of blood also affects viscosity. At very low flow states in the microcirculation, as occurs during circulatory shock, the blood viscosity can increase quite significantly. This occurs because at low flow states there are increased cell-to-cell and protein-to-cell adhesive interactions that can cause erythrocytes to adhere to one another and increase the blood viscosity.

[Collin152]

Ah, yes, all very good.

I have a new question:
How much iron is there in a liter of blood?
or...
What percentage of blood is iron?

[Rykaj]

45 milligrams per day, pshaw, go tell that to Michel Lotito (http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Lotito) AKA monsieur Mangetout!

Read the article and you know why he deserves that name :smallwink:

[Dallas-Dakota]

Consumption of blood isn't very healthy,
Or so I've heard... <.< >.> <.<

:smallconfused:

[Thes Hunter]

*has nasty flash backs to school*

You see... professors become professors because they are an expert on something. This lends to the tendency of them to over teach their given specialty.


One of my professors was a man who has done a lot of pioneering research in the mechanisms of the regulation involved in intestinal absorption of iron.

*shivers from the memories of having to memorize all the transitions from ferrous to ferric iron, and this gene controlling this and that and this transportor doing such and such*

Thankfully I have washed away most of the knowledge with beer.

[Solo]

crush an iron pill between your teeth. They sell them as supplements for people with anemia.