The food we consume today is highly processed and has been responsible for many health crises. Many women are unaware of the harm that they are causing themselves by following the popular and restrictive fad diets that are essentially depriving their bodies of the iron they need.
As per regional health data, there’s an alarming ratio of women facing this issue in Texas. The data indicated that a large number of women of reproductive age were well below normal levels of iron. Iron deficiency anemia in women is a serious condition that can directly cause a lot of other serious diseases, like chronic infections, heart disease, pregnancy complications, or low birth weight.
For long-term health care, you should know exactly what causes this condition and how to recognize its symptoms.
What Exactly Is Iron Deficiency Anemia?
Iron is an essential mineral needed to create hemoglobin in your body. The hemoglobin protein in your red blood cells takes up oxygen in your lungs and transports it to the rest of your body.
If you’re low on iron, your body makes less healthy red blood cells. If your body doesn’t have the necessary red blood cells, your tissues are essentially suffocating without oxygen. This lack of oxygen is what gives rise to the extreme fatigue and weakness of anemia.
Iron deficiency anemia in women happens in stages. The first stage is when your iron levels start to become low, but your red blood cells are not yet impacted. You can measure iron stores by a blood test called ferritin.
During the second phase, the iron supply is greatly depleted, and your bone marrow starts to make smaller, less efficient red blood cells. During the third stage, hemoglobin levels fall below the range for diagnosing anemia, and signs and symptoms start to be more obvious and disruptive.
For months or years, many women remain in the first and second stages and only become diagnosed with anemia later. That is why it is necessary to measure ferritin and hemoglobin together to properly detect iron deficiency, before it reaches the stage of complete anemia.
What Causes Anemia in Women?
There are a number of reasons, but what causes anemia in women is directly linked to female biology and life stages.
Women are at a much greater risk than men because they lose blood frequently. The most frequent causes are:
1. Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
This is where most women get their iron deficiency. If you have to change your pad/tampon every few hours or if your period lasts longer than 7 days, you are losing iron from your system faster than your body can replace it. Women suffering from uterine fibroids, endometriosis, adenomyosis, and hormonal imbalances are especially vulnerable.
2. Pregnancy
When you are pregnant, your blood volume increases by up to 50% to support the baby. This is a tremendous increase, which causes the thinning of your red blood cells and requires a tremendous amount of additional iron. It’s a critical period to check iron levels, as many women are already depleted in iron when they become pregnant.
3. Low Dietary Iron Intake
If you follow a strict vegan or vegetarian diet without making sure you’re getting enough iron-rich foods, or just don’t eat enough foods that contain iron, your iron levels will gradually drop over time. The recommended iron intake for women of reproductive age (19-50) is 18mg per day. In some cases, more than double the amount of 8 milligrams that men of the same age need. This increased need is due to the iron that is lost during menstruation.
4. Low Gut Absorption
You may be getting enough iron in your diet, but it is not being absorbed. Your stomach may not break down iron in your food due to other health issues, such as Celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, or low stomach acid caused by chronic stress. Besides the blood loss associated with menstruation, slow chronic blood loss from the digestive tract is an important cause of anemia in females, especially older women and women who have gone through menopause.
5. Intense Exercise
Iron deficiency can occur in females who train hard or run long distances by a number of mechanisms: Iron needs are higher during exercise. When you work out heavily, you lose a little iron in your sweat. High-intensity training can sometimes lead to more gastrointestinal bleeding than athletes are aware of.
Iron Deficiency Anemia Symptoms
Iron deficiency develops slowly. First, your body will draw iron from its iron reserves. By the time you start to feel sick, you have nothing left in your system.
The following are the signs and symptoms of iron deficiency anemia that you should watch for:
- Extreme Fatigue
- Weakness
- Pale skin and inner eyelids
- Shortness of Breath
- Dizziness
- Hair Loss
- Pale Nails
- Heart Palpitations
- Brain Fog
- Poor Concentration
- Craving and Chewing Ice
- Restless Leg Syndrome
- Severe Period Cramps
- Sore or smooth tongue
- Poor sleep
- Cold intolerance
- Headache
- Cold Hands and feet
- Frequent Illness
How Iron Deficiency Anemia Is Diagnosed
Never assume you have anemia and begin to take any random iron supplement. Taking too much iron can actually be toxic to your liver. It’s always best to get a proper diagnosis. Iron deficiency anemia can’t be diagnosed with just a simple hemoglobin test.
This is what needs to be tested and its significance.
Ferritin: This test measures your current iron stores. Many traditional practitioners will just take your hemoglobin, and if it’s normal, they’ll tell you that you’re okay. But if your ferritin is low, you are on the verge of anemia and will still feel all the symptoms. Ferritin is considered to be normal if levels are greater than 12 to 15 micrograms per liter. But functional medicine doctors understand that many people experience symptoms of iron deficiency even though their ferritin levels are in the normal range of 30-50 micrograms per liter.
CBC: A complete blood count will determine if red blood cells are small and pale. Your provider will perform a routine blood test called a CBC to assess your level of hemoglobin.
Thyroid panel test: This test should be done as there is a bidirectional relationship between thyroid function and iron metabolism.
Hemoglobin and hematocrit: This test indicates the concentration of red blood cells and their capacity to transport oxygen. These fall into established anemia but may be normal in early iron deficiency.
Serum iron and transferrin saturation: This test will show the amount of iron in the blood and whether there is an adequate amount of iron transport available.
Treatment for Iron Deficiency Anemia in Women
If you are diagnosed, your provider will recommend treatment according to the severity of your deficiency and your ability to absorb and tolerate iron supplements.
1. Diet
When a deficiency is present, it’s a good idea to boost dietary iron intake, but it’s not usually enough to cure it. The best food sources of heme iron include red meat, chicken liver, oysters, and canned sardines. Non-heme iron sources include fortified cereals, spinach, tofu, kidney beans, pumpkin seeds, and lentils.
2. Vitamin C
Vitamin C with non-heme iron foods greatly increases absorption. You can have your lentils with your glass of orange juice, and that makes a difference. On the other hand, coffee, tea, calcium, and milk products taken at the same time as iron-containing foods greatly decrease absorption.
3. Iron supplementation
The iron supplement is usually given orally in the form of iron tablets as the first line of therapy for iron deficiency anemia. The most common forms are ferrous sulfate, ferrous gluconate, and ferrous fumarate. They are most effective when taken on an empty stomach with vitamin C. However, this raises the risk of gastrointestinal side effects such as constipation, nausea, and stomach cramping.
Recent studies demonstrate that taking iron supplements every other day rather than daily increases overall absorption with decreased side effects. This is because iron supplementation causes a hormone called hepcidin to be released by the body and thus prevents continued absorption. Gentler forms of iron, such as ferrous bisglycinate and iron glycinate, are more readily absorbed than regular ferrous sulfate.
4. Intravenous iron infusion
Your stomach may not absorb the iron from a pill if you have a digestive tract problem, such as Celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease. Or, if your iron levels are dangerously low, you might need a faster solution. Therefore, you should consider an intravenous (IV) iron infusion. It’s a very effective choice to restore iron levels quickly. It’s injected safely in a clinical setting.
Bottom Line
Iron deficiency anemia in women is a definitive medical problem, and a definitive medical solution is required. It is very common in menstruating and pregnant women, children, and those who have a history of consuming too much cow’s milk or an insufficient quantity of iron-rich foods.
Although this is typically a simple nutritional deficiency, it can sometimes be a sign of blood disorders. Chronic anemia can sometimes be a sign or an underlying cause of more complicated conditions, such as genetic diseases like thalassemia or bone marrow disorders. Thus, it is advisable that you undergo a thorough medical examination to treat the actual underlying cause.
At Kairos Integrative Care in Texas, Lola, one of our integrative primary care nurse practitioners, provides chronic disease management and personalized treatment plans to help you feel better.
If you aren’t getting enough iron from your diet, contact us today to get to the root cause of your illness.
