Iron-Deficiency? We do unfortunately know her....
Defining Iron-Deficiency, symptoms, and everyday tips to address it
I feel like growing up everyone used to just say they were anemic? Is that just my high school lol? I mean sure, they probably were anemic considering around 40% of people who menstruate between 12-21 are iron-deficient in the US.
(An absurd statistic for a so-called “developed” nation if you ask me).
However, I never fully understood what being anemic was or even iron-deficiency, aside from people saying it made them want to chew ice.
(This has actually been shown to be common in iron-deficient individuals and has a name - pagophagia; a type of pica, which is a condition that can cause cravings for non-nutritional items.)
So today, we are defining it!
Defining Iron-Deficiency and Anemia
Iron-Deficiency is a rather common affliction that many people can have across their lifetime regardless of gender, age, race, etc. It is simply defined as having low-iron supply in your blood. When your body does not have enough iron it can jeopardize the production of healthy red blood cells, which we do not want!
Anemia is a condition in which the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body. This can be found through low hemoglobin levels in your blood.
Iron-Deficiency can cause Anemia, but being iron-deficient doesn’t necessarily put you in the category of being anemic. Therefore, Iron-Deficiency Anemia is a type of anemia caused by iron being low in your blood.
There are other forms of anemia that can occur, such as Sickle-Cell Anemia, which is a hereditary disease caused by misshapen red blood cells, leading to a reduced amount of healthy red-blood cells.
Causes
Iron-Deficiency can have many causes, such as loss of blood due to injury or menstruation, excessive drinking, pregnancy, lack of iron in the diet, and issues with absorption of iron in the body.
Symptoms
These can vary from person to person, but tends to look like:
fatigue
paleness of skin or gauntness (though if you are darker-skinned, looking “pale” may look a little different)
feeling weak
headaches
mood swings (annoyance, irritability)
heart palpitations or fast heartbeat
TO MY FELLOW HYPOCHONDRIACS HAVING ONE OR EVEN TWO OF THESE SYMPTOMS DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN YOU ARE IRON-DEFICIENT!!!! check with your doctor or physician for your annual physical first pls <3
Tips to Address Iron-Deficiency
First things first, I would like to preface this by saying this is what worked for ME, and does not mean these will help or even change results for everyone. These tips, in my opinion, are simply good things to knows, and can be easily incorporated in your everyday life. :)
#1 - Leafy greens, leafy greens, leafy greens: This is the most basic step towards upping your iron levels.
This can be done with pretty much all dietary restrictions (vegan, vegetarian, meat-eater, etc.)
Some leafy greens to add:
Kale
Spinach
Mustard Greens
Broccoli
#2 - Liquid Iron
When I found out I was anemic, they prescribed iron pills to me. I took them for about a month, only to find after secondary testing that my iron levels were lower than before. So as one does, I went to TikTok.
I decided to give Liquid Iron a try after much comment sourcing. I ordered some and began taking it every other day, as recommended by my GI doctor. (also the pills are hard on the tum.)
A few months, and a surgery later, I found my levels were back to normal. Once again, this is a very chicken vs. the egg moment in terms of which fixed my iron levels. However, I have found when I take the liquid iron, I have significantly more energy.
I take the lowest dose recommended to adults and still every other day.
(link to the liquid iron I use above.)
#3 - Increasing Meat Intake (not vegetarian or vegan friendly - sorry!)
As a person who does not eat beef or pork, casually throwing a steak or two into my weekly dinner routine was not an option. BUT that does not mean other meats weren’t helpful.
I made a point of trying to incorporate more meat protein into my diet, including fish, turkey, and chicken.
Once again, I cannot tell you this is exactly what solved my iron-deficiency, but it did drastically improve my energy levels and make me feel much better when working out!
And there we have it, a little defining, a little describing, and a few tips to help you better understand what iron-deficiency actually is.
I hope this helps, even if it’s a little bit!
good luck and drink some water <3