Vitamin Deficiency: Iron Deficiency and Anemia

Northville Prompt Weight Loss

If you think your iron stores might be low, you can increase iron absorption by:

• Adding a source of vitamin C at meals.
• Avoiding tea and coffee at meals.
• Increasing legume (peanuts, beans, lentils, peas) intake.
• Cooking foods (especially water based acidic foods like tomato sauce) in cast iron skillets.

If you think you might have iron deficiency anemia, see a doctor to find out. Supplements are available for people diagnosed with deficiency.

Iron Deficiency and Anemia

Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency in the U.S. There are two types of iron problems:

• Iron deficiency (ID) - low iron stores; typically measured by a serum ferritin of less than 18 ng/mL (nanograms per millilitre.)
• Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) - typically measured by a hemoglobin of less than 120 g/L (grams per liter.)

IDA symptoms include pale skin, brittle fingernails, fatigue, weakness, difficulty breathing upon exertion, inadequate temperature regulation, loss of appetite, apathy, and hair loss. Many of these are symptoms of other nutritional deficiencies and diseases and therefore only a medical doctor can properly diagnose IDA. It is relatively inexpensive to have your iron levels tested by a doctor.
Some health professionals believe in "sub-clinical iron deficiency" in which someone has blood measurements in the normal range but is still having symptoms of ID or IDA. According to the National Academy of Sciences, "The bulk of experimental and epidemiological evidence in humans suggests that functional consequences of iron deficiency (related both to anemia and tissue concentration) occur only when iron deficiency is of a severity sufficient to cause a measurable decrease in hemoglobin concentration. However, other iron experts suggest that some people have a higher-than-average normal hemoglobin level and can suffer from IDA even though their hemoglobin is in the (presumably lower end of the) normal range ... Read More

From Oli G

To Learn More about Oli Geagea MS Dietitian and receive nutritional support go to www.promptweightloss.com