Blood tests showed that the low-zinc diet lowered the men's stores of the mineral, and diminished the activity of the carbonic anhydrase enzymes in their red blood cells.
Iron is required for the production of red blood cells (a process known as haematopoiesis), but it's also part of haemoglobin (that is the pigment of the red blood cells) binding to the oxygen and thus facilitating its transport from the lungs via the arteries to all cells throughout the body.ron is required for the production of red blood cells (a process known as haematopoiesis), but it's also part of haemoglobin (that is the pigment of the red blood cells) binding to the oxygen and thus facilitating its transport from the lungs via the arteries to all cells throughout the body.
Oxygen is carried within red blood cells by a compound called hemoglobin, which is able to bind up to four oxygen molecules and form oxyhemoglobin. Each red blood cell contains large quantities of this molecule, allowing them to carry around far more oxygen than needed to ensure that supply always meets demand.