Hairloss and Fatigue - A Possible Cause

Iron deficiency is considered to be one of the most prevalent forms of malnutrition.¹ and the most common mineral deficiency.

Iron is essential for blood production; iron is found in the red blood cells of your blood called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is essential for transferring oxygen in your blood from the lungs to the tissues. If iron is low, the ability to make red blood cells and deliver oxygen or energy to cells declines. This is called anemia. About 25% of the iron in the body is stored as ferritin. When iron stores are exhausted, the condition is called iron depletion.²

Iron is not made in the body and must be absorb from what you eat. The recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) for Iron is 8 mg/day for men and 18 mg/day for women 19-51 years of age.³

Causes:

1. Insufficient intake: more of an issue with vegans and vegetarians
2. Increased loss of blood: menstruation
3. Gynecological issues – endometriosis
4. Gastrointestinal blood loss
5. Inability to absorb iron – inflammatory bowel disorders like Celiac disease, or Chron’s

Too little –

Mild:

• Pale skin
• Tired all the time
• Coldness/difficult warming up

Severe:

• Hemoglobin drops
• Shortness of breath
• Chest pain
• Brittle nails and/or hair-loss

Iron supplements should not be taken unless you’ve consulted with a doctor. Too much iron in the body can be toxic.

Two kinds of iron:

1. Heme-iron: animal food sources, most easily absorbable form
2. Non-heme iron: found mostly in plant foods and iron-fortified foods and is less well absorbed, however, to boost pair with…

Vitamin-C rich foods ⁴…like papaya, mango, broccoli, kiwi, and citrus fruits

To ensure daily requirement eat whole foods; foods rich in iron are:

Iron-rich foods: Animal food sources (meat, seafood, and poultry), algae, including both sea-veggies like arame and dulse, and micro-algae like spirulina, tofu, bean sprouts, greens (all kinds) gently steamed, beets, cabbage, baked potato with skin, broccoli, garbanzo beans, soybeans, lentils, grains, nuts and pumpkin and sunflower seeds (soak and/or sprout), dried fruit like raisins and apricots

Favorite iron-rich herbal formulations are Floradix® (a liquid extract) and the Ayurvedic herbal jam Chyanvanprash, and the herbs nettles and yellow dock.

Also, cooking with cast iron cookware will help meet daily requirements, especially when slow cooking.

In going back to our pairing of iron-rich plant food and Vitamin-C some examples are: Tofu scramble with bell pepper, mixed seaweed salad with an orange vinaigrette, lentil stew (pre-soaked) served with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Iron inhibitors:

• Polyphenols found in black and herbal tea, coffee, wine, legumes, cereals, fruits and veggies have demonstrated to inhibit iron absorption.⁵
• Oxalix acid found in spinach, chard, beans and nuts acts to bind and inhibit iron absorption.

As mentioned too much iron in the body can be toxic, so this is not a good place to self-diagnose. Please seek out a professional health care provider and consider getting your iron levels tested. I’ve found it helpful to look at: Complete Blood Count or CBC, red blood cell counts, hemoglobin, iron, and ferritin levels.

Resources:

1. Iron deficiency: global prevalence and consequences https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17016951/
2. Hemoglobin and Iron: ww.ucsfhealth.org
3. Iron – Health Professional Fact Sheet: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional
4. Boosting Iron Absorption: https://www.parentingscience.com/iron-absorption.html
5. Polyphenols: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448204/