173

Can licking an iron bar get you the daily recommended amount of iron? (lemmy.world)

submitted 11 months ago by R5v5n1nt@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

75 comments fedilink hide all child comments

How many licks would it take? Can the iron in bars even be processed by the body? Can you do this for other minerals?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] monotremata@kbin.social 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

~~It's also because the bacterium in question is anaerobic, so it dies in an oxygen environment; rusting consumes oxygen, so it helps preserve the bacterium longer out of soil.~~

Edit: I had always been told this, but evidently it isn't true. The rust does not seem to have any effect on the bacterium that causes tetanus. Apologies for spreading misinformation.

[-] FishFace@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

I'd be quite surprised if rusting could consume oxygen fast enough to make a difference there?

[-] Typhoonigator@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Yeah, this is a strange mix of information being conveyed. Tetanus is indeed caused by an anaerobe, and it's caused by a puncturing wound. The depth of the wound is what causes the oxygen-free environment. The correlation with iron, from my understanding, is solely because a nail can easily cause such a puncture. A nail stepped on in the general environment can easily innoculate the wound with with the relatively common Clostridium tetani bacteria, which causes tetanus. I don't think rust is a factor, though I've been wrong before.

[-] monotremata@kbin.social 3 points 11 months ago

Yeah, you're right. This is something I was taught at one point, and I guess I never questioned it because it sounded plausible. Sorry! I have updated my comment to reflect this.

this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2023

173 points (97.3% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26778 readers

1419 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.