Iron. It’s very important for health, yet so many endo queens are deficient!
Fatigue, anaemia, breathlessness, impaired liver enzyme activity, low thyroid functioning…these are just some of the issues when your iron is out of whack. This leaving you feeling less than great!
Symptoms of Iron Deficiency Anaemia
Fatigue
Hair loss
Heart palpitations
Chest pain
Breathlessness
Muscle weakness
Dizziness
Pale skin
Sore inflamed tongue
Pale conjunctiva
Brittle nails that may have spooning
PICA - craving for ice, dirt or other non-nutritive substances
So why is iron so important anyhow?
Iron is crucial for the transport of oxygen via Haemaglobin synthesis
Thyroid health
Liver enzymes and detoxification pathways
Energy systems
Healthy pregnancy and babies
Athletic performance
How do we correct iron deficiency anaemia?
Ensure adequate dietary intake or iron and cofactors (these are things like B9, B12, Vit A, C, D)
Fix heavy bleeding
Stop consuming iron inhibitors
Address any inflammation or infections
BEST DIETARY SOURCES
Red meat (I know! there’s a myth endometriosis suffers shouldn’t eat red meat. If you’re having trouble with red meat, we may need to explore gut issues & other mechanisms)
Oysters, clams, mussels, sardines, beef or chicken liver
Plant based sources are harder to absorb due to phytates & polyphenols, but highest sources are:
Herbs, spices, ginger, figs, tofu, apricots, prune juice, kidney beans etc.
BLOOD TEST RESULTS
The range in Australia is roughly 25-290 for ferritin (Your stored iron levels)
But through my nutritional & functional medicine lense, I find people have an individual level of ferritin they do well with and that it's more about the transferrin levels. Transferrin can indicate how "hungry" your body is for iron.
IRON BLOCKERS
Iron inhibitors are foods that contain polyphenols and phytic acid, tannins in coffee/tea, & proton pump inhibitors like omeprazole. Avoid these while consuming iron rich foods
IRON ENHANCERS
For plant-based iron (non-haem) - vitamin C is very important to help absorption.
Avoid eating iron with foods containing blockers mentioned above also, although this can be tricky with plant-based diets and you might need to make sure the food source is cooked to help break-down phytates etc.
The maximum that can be absorbed by the gut in one day is approximately 18mg. However, taking iron supplements daily may cause your iron "transporters" to become full and down regulate uptake. Supplementing every second day or third day may improve uptake. Heavy periods can leave you needing more iron in addition to the government set RDI.
My number one clinical strategy for increasing iron levels in endo babes is to work on the reasons for it being low in the first place i.e. the heavy periods, infections, or inflammation. I use targeted nutrients to decrease flow, therefore, reducing iron loss during menstruation.
Have you struggled with chronic iron deficiency? I would love to hear from you.
Bec
xx
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