Am I Really Tired or Am I Just Low on Iron?

Out of a 804 sample of female Valeo users, a remarkable 165 were found to have iron deficiency. That’s 1 out of 5 women! And almost 90% of them took their test for the same reason: “I feel tired and have no energy almost all the time”. Iron is an essential component for the production of hemoglobin which is the main protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to all the cells of your body.  So, imagine trying to workout without enough oxygen? When iron levels in your body are low, several symptoms that mimic other conditions would appear. Now let’s explore this together.

When to suspect you have iron deficiency?

Iron deficiency can cause vague symptoms that are usually ignored or attributed to other conditions, the most common hints include:

• Feeling fatigued and easily exhausted all the time

• Using too much blush because of your pale skin

• Suffering from recurrent infections

• Noticing more hair fall on pillows and in showers

• Weird cravings like ice, clay, dirt, or chalk “it’s a good idea to eat the cake your kid made”

• Restless legs syndrome

• Loud pounding of the heart (palpitations)

Come to think of it, I think vampires may be suffering from iron deficiency, they have the symptoms: pale skin, brittle nails, hair loss, and some weird cravings. They drink blood because they need more iron!!! 

What is causing your iron levels to be low? 

Pregnancy and blood loss are the most common causes of iron deficiency in childbearing age women. They are particularly prone to low iron levels due to blood losses during menstruation, gynecological disorders that cause excess bleeding like endometriosis and uterine fibroids, and higher iron demands during pregnancy.

Inadequate iron intake, the human body cannot produce iron on its own. It absorbs it from foods we eat and then stores it to be used later to make hemoglobin, DNA synthesis and other essential functions.

Malabsorption of iron, factors that lead to lower iron absorption include: decrease in the production of the stomach’s HCL (like using PPIs such as Nexium) where an acidic environment is needed for iron to break down into a simpler form that can be properly absorbed. Another is absorption disorders like coeliac disease and consuming foods that contain “phytate” like tea, coffee and wine.

Genetics, blood-related genetic abnormalities may cause iron deficiency anemia.

So, how can you properly manage your iron deficiency?

First, you’ll need to test for it. Iron-deficiency anemia is only diagnosed with blood tests. The following are the main blood tests that show can diagnose iron deficiency:

• A complete blood count test (CBC) shows hemoglobin levels, red blood cell count and other components.
• A serum blood iron profile, which includes: Iron levels in your blood, the amount of transferrin (protein that carries iron) and the levels of ferritin in your blood (protein that stores iron). 

Depending on your needs you can follow these guidelines given your doctor’s approval:

• Consume more foods rich in iron, like red meat, livers, shellfish, tofu, nuts, legumes and dried fruits.
• Eat more foods containing vitamin C to help you absorb iron better.
• Eat more foods containing folate that increase iron absorption. Butternut squash is a great example.
• Lower the intake of foods and drinks that stop your iron absorption, like calcium, tea, coffee and wine.
• Use iron supplements. Be careful as not all iron supplements are created equal. You shouldn’t have to experience the dreaded constipation that is traditionally associated with supplemental iron.
• In some extreme cases, people would be advised to use intravenous iron infusion.

Valeo takes supplementation extremely seriously. All too often we find people buying generic high street supplements, not understanding why they are using them and not feeling the least benefit from them and that’s just the good part. There is also a much darker part where people simply don’t know how those supplements are produced and what is in them exactly.

Valeo’s iron supplement, Ferrolactin+, is a great example of quality supplementation that respects testing processes and research standards. It contains beneficial probiotics that enhance digestion & absorption as well as reduces gastric irritation commonly associated with iron supplementation. Thanks to its low dose (14 mg) and beneficial co-factors like methyl forms of folate & B12, Ferrolactin+ is far better absorbed than traditional supplements. 

In a nutshell, iron deficiency is the most common deficiency and leading cause for fatigue in women. The best way to diagnose iron deficiency is by blood tests. The important part of managing iron deficiency is pinpointing what is causing it, knowing that will help you start your journey towards optimal iron levels - sufficient to relieve you of the related symptoms.