Wellness Wednesday

Another reason why you keep feeling tired is iron deficiency.

Iron helps your body make haemoglobin, which carries oxygen to your tissues.

When iron is low;

• You feel weak.
• You get dizzy.
• You become short of breath.
• You struggle to concentrate.

Women with heavy menstrual bleeding and hormonal imbalance struggle with this.

People who eat crappy diets struggle here again.

The vegans are also part of this group.

A simple blood test can make the diagnosis.

A kitchen diagnosis can also show. Start here before the lab.

And let me remind you something about iron absorption because most people rush to eat iron rich foods but still struggle with iron deficiency.

Iron from your food doesn’t automatically enter your bloodstream.

It first has to be released from the food, absorbed through the small intestine, and then transported around the body.

Stomach acid plays a crucial role by helping break down food and converting iron into a form that is easier to absorb. Again, you cannot run away from fasting can you?
You cannot keep taking antacids and hoping for the best are you?

Iron from animal foods such as red meat, liver, fish, and poultry (heme iron) is absorbed much more efficiently than iron from plant foods (non-heme iron) such as beans, lentils and spinach.

Vitamin C from foods like green leafy vegetables, sauerkraut, kimchi, peppers and lemon peels(I don’t know if you consider this as food), significantly improve the absorption of non-heme iron by converting it into a form the intestine can take up more easily.

So, for you to absorb iron;

• The diet must be right.
• The stomach acid must be highly concentrated (low pH ).
• Vitamin C should accompany that diet.
• The gut wall should be well maintained. Ulcers and Gastritis hinder optimum absorption of iron.
• The liver must be well functioning. It regulates iron absorption in the gut.

Is there a shortcut here?

Look at it this way, the iron supplements you take will take about 4-6 weeks to attain a certain plasma concentration that is effective for iron supplementation.

It can take you less time to fix the gut.

Choose wisely.