Our bodies have no internal mechanism to regulate the elimination of iron. It’s essential that your iron levels are balanced because both an iron deficiency and excess iron can be devastating.
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An iron deficiency
An iron deficiency is a very common problem. People diagnosed with a deficiency of iron are told to take elemental iron—which is not the best form of iron for absorption.
Taking elemental iron can cause symptoms of an iron deficiency to last, and it won’t take care of the root problem.
It’s best to get your iron from your diet instead of a supplement. If you have to take a supplement, make sure it contains dehydrated beef liver or spleen extract.
Skin
An iron deficiency can affect your skin and lead to sallow skin, which can cause:
- Paleness
- Yellowing
- Dullness
- An uneven skin tone
- Blemishes
Nails
An iron deficiency can affect your nails, causing:
- Brittleness
- Spooning
Hair
An iron deficiency can affect your hair, causing:
- A loss of texture
- Brittleness
- Toughness
- Pattern hair loss
- Thinning
Top causes of an iron deficiency
- Not consuming enough iron
- A lack of hydrochloric acid
- Gut inflammation
- Consuming foods high in phytic acid
- Consuming too much bran
- Consuming too much copper (learn more about benefits of copper)
- Lead present in your body
- Blood loss
- Gastric bypass surgery
- Alcohol consumption
- Parasites
- Sugar blocks the absorption of iron
How to boost iron
- Consume red meat. For those who can’t eat meat another great way of getting more iron is organic whole wheat quinoa. 1/4 cup contains 11 percent. Cut some tomatoes, cucumber, sweet onion. Makes for a great salad cold from the fridge
- Take betaine hydrochloride (5 to 7 before a meal)
- Stop eating foods that block iron
- Stop eating foods that create inflammation
- Consume Vitamin C
It is interesting that there was no mention of how vitamin C is important for the optimal absorption iron. There are multiple studies that confirms this.
I have been taking iron pills for a week i was not anemic my hb was 13.5g but my body’s iron storage depleted and i felt lethargic,lack of energy,tired and my hairs lost color and smoothness but after taking iron supplements within a week my symptoms has improved.
I had a lack of iron (shortness of breath, palpitation) because I took too much supplement containing zinc. Everything went back to normal after I stopped taking zinc. Do not take a dietary supplement without being sure you really need it! A blood test can give you useful indications.
I was diagnosed with anemia and was prescribed iron supplements. Two weeks into the supplements i started having awful pain in my left chest and doctor diagnosed it as costochondritis- an inflammation of the rib joints, and it lasted two months. No cure, just pain management. I suspected it was due to the iron pills but wasnt sure. Then i found out in one of videos that excess iron can be a cause of inflammation. Thank you for the info. Anyway glad that my anemia is not so bad now and i dont really need the iron pills anymore ?? My rib pain is almost gone too ?
I am recently being diagnosed with anemia. Asking myself why, I decided to look at the nutriment content of my meals, especially on iron. I am eating more fishes than meat; however, most fishes have very little amount of iron. Indeed, my iron intake was on average about 6 mg/day during the last year; for a man, it should be 8 mg/day. I decide to add oysters in my meals, they contain lots of iron. With oysters, I should be able to increase my iron intake up to about 8 to 10 mg. I hope to resolve my anemia in about a month.
Otherwise, I take a meal a day on an almost ketovore diet.
I had my ferritin checked and it was higher than the range. I don’t know why. I would have actually assumed I had low iron, but it was the opposite. I read that turmeric has been found to lower iron, there’s a case study on it. I’ll get it checked again because my doctor said inflammation can cause high iron.
I have thalessemia which isn’t necessarily a iron deficiency,but like you said,I can’t get rid of iron. My red cells are deformed and small. Some foods are to be avoided for someone like me. It’s a tightrope walk of consuming different foods which will either promote absorbing iron or inhibit iron. It’s actually very confusing
Every time I attempt to supplement with iron I notice in about 1 day I feel very depressed – it dramatically affects my mood and I wondered if it was bc it was feeding certain microbes that produce endotoxins or any other type of toxic waste that effects me mentally.
Sugar also blocks the absorption of iron as sugar acts as a Trojan to vitamin c. Vitamin c is needed to absorb iron and sugar literally takes vitamin c from in our body. My ferritin was 15. I cut out sugar and started increasing my vitamin c 5 weeks later my bloods were taken and my ferritin was 31! Just in 5weeks! I was blown away!!