Iron Deficiency and Fatigue

The most common cause of fatigue in pre-menopausal women is chronic iron deficiency and it is greatly underestimated as a cause of severe disabling fatigue. Many women put up with this for years because they find that oral iron supplements are not strong enough or that they cause digestive upsets.

The mineral iron would have to be the most essential mineral for human and animal life. Three quarters (75%) of the body’s total iron content is found inside the red blood cells and is part of a protein (hemoglobin) that enables red cells to carry life giving oxygen to every cell in our body.

Ten to twenty percent of iron is stored in a protein called ferritin. The rest, which is not very much (say 5 to 10% of the total body iron), is transported around the body on another protein called transferrin and a small amount is free in the blood.

We can do tests to measure all these different forms of iron with one simple blood test and this enables us to see if you have too little iron in your body or too much iron in your body or just the right amount!

Do not put up with chronic iron deficiency, as it will impact your whole health adversely.

Possible symptoms of iron deficiency include

• Dizziness and light headedness
• Fainting
• Mental fogginess and slowness
• Chronic fatigue
• Weakness of the immune system
• Shortness of breath and poor exercise tolerance
• Fertility problems in women

What are the common causes of iron deficiency?

• Heavy and/or too frequent menstrual bleeding. Progesterone cream helps to lighten and regulate menstruation.
• Blood loss from the bowel – perhaps due to a hidden intestinal cancer, polyps, hemorrhoids or inflammatory bowel disease
• Poor iron absorption from the gut caused by celiac disease, non-celiac gluten intolerance, lack of stomach acid, antacid drugs, surgery for weight loss (gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy etc). Digestive enzymes and betaine hydrochloride are wonderful for helping iron absorption from food or supplements. Vitamin C helps increase iron absorption, so you should always consume vitamin C rich foods or a supplement along with iron rich foods.
• Chronic diseases such as autoimmune disease, kidney disease, arthritis and cancer can cause low iron. See my autoimmune disease book for information on how to address this.
• Vegan diet or poor diet

Having adequate iron in your body will change your life so that you can get back the energy and quality of life you deserve!

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.