Here's a quick lesson to pass on of what I've learned about iron. Why it goes low, what to do about it, how it works.
First of all, iron is what your body uses to produce red blood cells. And, red blood cells are what your body uses to carry oxygen to all the cells. Your body stores this iron in your liver, and uses it as needed, rebuilding stores as needed. You also need vitamin B12 and folate to produce red blood cells, so ensuring you are getting enough of those is important as well.
One of the reasons that women get low in iron is due to monthly cycles, but also due to having numerous babies who use iron faster than it can be replaced. During pregnancy, a woman's blood volume expands by 40-50% but that volume increase is only plasma, not red or white blood cells. Those take time for the body to build up to meet the volume levels. Often the plasma increases in the first trimester, and then the red and white blood cells catch up in the second trimester (which is often when the women notice symptoms of anemia because their stores have been depleted). The baby is also taking its share of iron, as he/she is building their own stores of iron for the first 6 months of life until solid foods are added. Breast milk has no iron itself, so letting babies play in the dirt once they are able to sit is also very helpful in a baby getting its daily doses of iron (if it's warm enough, of course). There are many good baby foods that are high in iron as well, which I'll list below.
Complications that can arise from low iron are mainly fatigue (not a sleepy tired, but a physical exhaustion), mental confusion/instability, dizziness, lightheadedness, constipation, headaches. Established anemia (you've had it for a while) can produce weakness, fatigue, coldness of extremities, depression, overall pallor, pale and brittle nails, lips and eyelids, soreness in mouth and cessation of menstruation. Children can also be affected.
There are two forms of iron to increase levels in our body. Heme and non-heme. Basically heme is meat based iron sources, and non-heme is plant sources. Heme is absorbed easily and quickly and is your best bet for bringing up levels of iron. Non-heme is not as well absorbed, so is best taken with heme iron for best absorption. Vitamin C and vitamin B12 also enhance iron absorption; and calcium, vitamin E, zinc and antacids hinder it (compete with it) so keeping this in mind is important as well. Try to take them at different times of the day.
Sources
-Liver is the best, but other red meat comes next. Clams and oysters are also great (the little smoked ones in a can have the highest levels)
-Blackstrap molasses
-Dried fruits such as apricots, dates, figs, raisins, prunes (plus they are high in fiber)
-Chlorophyll
-Herbs such as nettles, alfalfa, dandelion, red raspberry are also great. Make them into an infusion for best results (tea that is steeped a minimum of 4 hours, overnight even)
-Elemental iron supplements (can cause constipation, so add in extra fiber such as apples or psyllium husks if you take this kind)
Lab tests
- Serum iron measures the level of iron in the liquid portion of the blood.
- TIBC (total iron-binding capacity) measures all of the proteins in the blood that are available to bind with iron, including transferrin.
- UIBC (unsaturated iron-binding capacity) measures the portion of transferrin that has not yet been saturated. UIBC also reflects transferrin levels.
- Transferrin saturation is a calculation that reflects the percentage of transferrin that is saturated with iron.
- Serum ferritin reflects the amount of stored iron in the body.
- Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels measure red blood cell levels
So, there it is. I've been doing as many of those things as I can handle, and am finally starting to feel "normal" again. It's taken about a month. My ferritin levels were 13 when they tested them this fall, and normal levels are 10-250. My Naturopath said I won't feel good unless they are over 50, and that is my goal. She also said that I can take in up to 120mg per day without trouble. My iron/hemoglobin levels have been fine with all the other pregnancies, so I'm guessing my ferritin has just been dropping lower and lower with each baby but this is the first time they've ever checked it. It was down to 7 last spring at my Naturopathic appt., so I've brought them up a bit since then, but obviously not enough.
