Can you Burn enough Iron to become Anemic?

[Quantus he/him]

We know that allomancy doesnt protect you from the mundane toxicity issues of the metals, so they need to burn off the excess each day.  We also know that trace minerals in your system can fuel it, evidenced by Vin's early use.  It occurred to me that in a few of the pure element cases (Iron and Zinc specifically) they are biologically needed minerals that might also be subject to that burn just like any other internally stored metal.  So could you over-burn your Iron enough to cause an acute Iron Deficiency? Could a Leecher hang on to a Lurcher or Rioter long enough to send them into that sort of medical crisis?

[Quantus he/him]

44 minutes ago, RShara said:

I don't think that most people would be able to burn the iron in their bloodstream, since it's a much tinier amount than what would be ingested. Also, it'd be in ionic form, rather than the elemental form that they burn.

That's a good point, a lot of the iron would be ionically dissolved and/or tied up in active molecules, which should render it as allomantically inert as an incorrect alloy.  

33 minutes ago, Wyndlerunner said:

Anemia could be an interesting physical effect of Iron Savantism, given we know Savantism generally does have an effect on the physical and spiritual aspects of a being.

That's probably a far more likely scenario, rather than a Leecher or any other Single-Burn event.  But an Iron Savant or similar misting that is burning constantly might not be leaving enough iron in his system long enough to be absorbed through the natural biological processes.  

[RShara she/her]

I don't think that most people would be able to burn the iron in their bloodstream, since it's a much tinier amount than what would be ingested. Also, it'd be in ionic form, rather than the elemental form that they burn.

[Wyndlerunner he/him]

Anemia could be an interesting physical effect of Iron Savantism, given we know Savantism generally does have an effect on the physical and spiritual aspects of a being.

[RShara she/her]

I actually now really like the idea of an iron savant being a bit anemic.

[danox46 he/him]

I think not, even those trace minerals need to be on your stomach to be used as reserves. I believe the iron that's naturally part of your body is tied to your spiritweb while you're alive and can't be considered reserves. Because it's kind of a small cog on the mechanics of allomancy would work.

 

Now, that doesn't really deny the possibility of that changing when you become a sevant. Since we don't know how would the soul change.

[Calderis he/him]

Metal does not need to be in the stomach. 

Miles burned his implanted metalminds. Inquisitors could burn their spikes (though it would be horrifically painful). 

Metal just needs to be inside the body to be burned. The only thing that would limitit to ingested metal would be perception. 

The issue of burning metal that exists in the blood is going to be that it is not in the form used for allomancy. But Vin burning pewter, and using her "luck" instinctively already show that at least some of the metal in the body is still available. I highly doubt she had anything that was the equivalent of an actual metal flake in her system every time she used them. Her narrative talks about how long it takes for her "luck" to replenish itself after it's been used... If it weren't some level of trace metals in her system, it would only be available sporadically when there was skme errant bit of metal. Instead, we see a very small reserve that builds up over time.