Iron Deficiency – What is it?
Iron deficiency, is a condition where the blood is deficient in red blood cells. The red blood cells (haemoglobin) are responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the tissue of the body in exchange for carbon dioxide.
Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional disorders and can contribute to the poor health and sub-optimal performance of many people. In times of need, i.e., pregnancy, recuperation, stress and growth, it is not always possible to obtain the extra iron required and a supplement is valuable.
Iron deficiency is classified in three groups:
1. Deficiency due to excessive blood loss: Injury, giving birth, menstrual loss
2. Deficiency due to excessive destruction of red
blood cells: ie. hereditary red blood cell defects
3. Nutritional deficiency, causing a lack of red
blood cell production.
Nutritional iron deficiency is the most common of the three groups. Symptoms do not appear until the body’s iron stores (serum ferritin) are first depleted.
Symptoms appear as pallor, lack of colour in the skin, a tendency to become fatigued easily, no stamina, and the inability to combat infection. There can often be incessant headaches and a lack of appetite.
Menstrual blood loss is another common cause of iron deficiency. Around 40ml of menstrual fluid is passed during the average period. Normally, the bleeding stops once the lining of the uterus (endometrium) is shed. For some women, the bleeding is excessively heavy (more than 80ml) or spotting occurs at other times in the menstrual cycle. This condition is called Menorrhagia, and commonly leads to severe iron deficiency if untreated.
Iron deficiency in pregnant women can cause health problems for the unborn child. A pregnant woman can need up to five times as much iron as a man.
Because the high demand for iron during pregnancy cannot be met
from a normal diet the National Health & Medical Research Council
(NH&MRC) recommends all pregnant women take an iron supplement.
Recent research suggests women do not have to be clinically iron
deficient to experience fatigue from lack of iron.1 Even moderately low levels of iron may affect women’s memory,
attention and physical endurance.2,3
The studies noted increases in participants’ vitality, alertness and energy when the diet was supplemented with iron.
Who are iron supplements recommended for?
- Iron Deficiency
Men and women can suffer from nutritional iron deficiency. A wide range of people can experience iron deficiency, particularly in today’s increasingly busy world.
- Pregnant Women and Nursing Mothers
When you are pregnant your body provides iron for your baby, and pregnancy can bring greater iron demands as the foetus develops. This results in depletion of your iron reserves. There is often considerable loss of iron at birth. Studies have shown that a lack of iron may reduce a baby's birth weight. While breast feeding there is a higher need for iron. This extra need for iron in many cases exceeds what can be supplied by the diet.
- Teenage girls and Adult Women
A frequent cause of iron deficiency anaemia in teenage girls and adult women is excessive loss of blood from menstruation. If your menstrual periods are more frequent, longer or heavier than usual, you can readily become iron deficient.
- After Illness
The stress of illness on the body as well as many of the modern medicines of today depend on higher intakes of many essential nutrients including iron. Iron supplementation can be highly beneficial for those recovering from illness.
- Athletes and high aerobic activity
The demand from athletes, sports people and manual workers for the oxygen carrying haemoglobin manufactured from iron is often higher than the supply. It is important that a balanced mix of iron, minerals and vitamins is taken to ensure the maximum production of haemoglobin.
- Growing Children
Young boys and girls grow at such a rate that their need for iron may exceed the amount available from their diet. A shortage of iron also makes them more likely to get colds and other respiratory infections.
Supplementary measures to treat iron deficiency
- Correct the diet, with iron containing food given priority. These include beans, lean meat, organ meats, dried fruit such as apricots and almonds, along with shellfish
- Remember that foods such as wheat bran, egg yolks, tea and coffee can inhibit iron absorption
- Supplementing with Vitamin C can enhance the absorption of iron into the blood
- Antacids and calcium supplements can also retard iron absorbency
- Complement with an iron supplement. As the body cannot manufacture minerals it is therefore completely dependent on our diet. Taking one isolated mineral alone can cause imbalance and cause a deficiency of another. It is important to take a well balanced iron supplement to maintain balance within the body
- When choosing a supplement, remember that iron chelate is absorbed better than an iron sulphate, and also has less side effects in terms of gastric disturbances, constipation, diarrhoea and indigestion. Ask your pharmacist for further assistance
References
Available on request.
This material is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. If symptoms persist, please contact your healthcare professional.
