Both my mom and sister have iron deficiency anemia.  When they do not take their iron supplements, they suffer with fatigue, headaches and difficulty concentrating (all very common symptoms).  Some other symptoms women experience (although rare) are pica, swollen tongue, spoon nails and difficulty swallowing.  Quite often iron deficiency runs in female relatives -like my mom and sis (I actually have high iron -who woulda thunk it?)

Why do we need iron anyhoo?  Besides simply to avoid all the above symptoms.  It helps our body carry oxygen to cells.  Now, imagine you do not have enough iron -that means not enough oxygen.  So it is no wonder low iron can cause fatigue!

What causes iron deficiency?  There are three main reasons that people have iron deficiency -increased need for iron, insufficient intake of iron and decreased absorption.  More specifically…

• Teen years -due to increased need during growth phases
• Menstruation
• Pregnancy/Lactation
• Cancer
• Vegan diet
• Malnutrition
• Gastric bypass
• Vitamin C deficiency
• High gastric pH

Enough reasons for ya?

Where do we get iron in our diet? There is heme iron (from meat) and nonheme iron (from plants).  Our bodies absorb heme iron better…so most of our iron comes from meat.  Other options are dried beans, dark leafy greens, dried fruits and cereal.

Iron is still low…where else can I get iron?  There are supplements available OTC.  Some people need IV iron but typically an oral tablet /liquid will be enough for most people.

All about iron supplements:  Iron comes as ferrous fumarate, glutamate, lactate, succinate and sulfate- all work about the same.  It is more about how much you need to take.  Iron is dosed as elemental iron.   So, to get 65mg elemental iron -you can take 1 tablet of 325mg ferrous sulfate or 2 tablets of 300mg ferrous gluconate.

Slow release iron (like Feosol) is easier on the belly (iron can cause belly aches).  It is also best to take the iron tablet on an empty stomach with some orange juice or soda -it will help the absorption of the iron.  Milk, cheese, tums (dairy stuff) should be avoided within 2 hours of taking the iron supplement because it will decrease the absorption of the iron.

Side effects: belly ache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, dark-coloured stools.  The liquid version can stain the teeth.

It is good to check with your physician first and see if you actually have low iron levels because iron levels can get too high too and that is a whole other issue!

Are you on an iron supplement -what do you think about all this?  Leave us a comment!

Keep it real and remember, as one of my patients so elegantly said, “Excrement happens!” 🙂