Iron Deficiency Should Be Looked For During Regular Screening

Iron deficiency, which can cause a slew of health problems, is easily treated yet remains the most common nutritional deficiency in the world!

Iron deficiency can affect people differently, with symptoms including anemia, weakness, headaches, irritability, shortness of breath, reduced exercise tolerance, lack of cognitive function, etc. A paper published in the Journal of Hematology and Thrombotic Diseases (Oct 2014) says that correcting iron deficiency can improve symptoms and quality of life in those living with chronic disease, including (but not limited to):  Continue reading

Is Your Family At Risk?

World Health Day is tomorrow (April 7th) making this the perfect time to talk about iron deficiency, which happens to be the world’s most common nutrient deficiency and one that affects people of all ages. The World Health Organization (WHO) says that 2 billion people are anemic, many due to iron deficiency. That’s more than 30% of the world’s population!

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Kelly: From the Challenges of Iron Deficiency to an IronMan Challenger

My name is Kelly and I am iron deficient. My iron levels were never great after the birth of my first child. The blood loss was massive, the doctors pondered my need for a blood transfusion and prescribed me ferrous sulfate to help out. It brought my levels up enough, but I had low iron levels from then on; never low enough to cause alarm, but enough (I would think) to play havoc with my energy levels.

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Experiencing Chronic Fatigue? It May Be Iron Deficiency

Many of us may live a busier life than we would care to. We’re always on the go and trying to juggle a dozen things at once. So, feeling tired is normal then, right? Well, feeling tired after a long and busy day is typical, but feeling that you are constantly in a state of fatigue is not. In fact, chronic fatigue falls under my ‘triad of symptoms related to iron deficiency.’

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Enhance Absorption with These Top 10 Vitamin C-Rich Foods

Vitamin C helps your body to better absorb iron – both from the iron-rich foods you eat and from iron supplements – along with all kinds of other great health benefits! In past articles, I’ve mentioned that to enhance absorption you can consume non-heme foods with a good source of Vitamin C, and you can take your iron supplement with orange, grapefruit or prune juice (note: this has been proven beneficial only with iron salt formulations).

So, to help you make the most of the iron you consume, here are 10 Vitamin C-rich foods that you can easily add to your daily diet:

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A Woman’s Need for Iron Throughout Her Life

In honour of International Women’s Day (March 8th), I thought it was fitting to make today’s post all about the ladies. Did you know that simply being female puts you at a higher risk for developing iron deficiency?

It is estimated that 20% of women of childbearing age are iron deficient and 50% of pregnant women develop iron deficiency. Each life stage can bring about different causes (or types) of the condition, which include:

  • Increased blood volume
  • Blood loss
  • Reduced absorption

Let’s have a look at the risk that each stage of life brings with it and why…

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I Wonder if MY 70 Blood Donors Know The Importance of Post-Donation Iron Supplementation

As the recipient of 70 units of blood last year (for bone marrow failure), I know first-hand how important blood donation is, and I am forever grateful for those who helped me when I was in need. On the weekend, I heard an announcement from Canadian Blood Services (CBS); while they are always in need of donors, their current inventory of O-negative blood is very low and they are asking for donors to come forward.

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My Story: From the Bottom of My Heart…

As I begin to close out my posts related to Heart Month, health and iron deficiency, I want to take this opportunity to share with you my own personal health story. This is possibly one of the most difficult articles I have written. I live my life by a very simple guideline; I face each issue actively and decide if it’s:

  • an insurmountable obstacle that will stop me in my tracks
  • a temporary impedance that may slow me down, but not permanently stop my progress
  • a crutch which I may choose to use to curry sympathy

Most of my issues are temporary impedances, which is why I have difficulty sharing them. I do not cope well with sympathy, however, I have been told that sharing my struggles may encourage others to carry on in spite of their barriers, and perhaps lend a bit of extra credibility to my knowledge. You see, I am not just an expert in the field of iron deficiency, I am profoundly iron deficient, and this is my story…

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Iron & Your Heart Part 1: Chronic Iron Deficiency

We’ve been talking about heart-related issues in honour of Heart Month, and this particular article may be among the most important of all because it will give you a look into the impact of iron deficiency anemia on your heart.

I want to ask you a question: How quickly would you get yourself to a doctor after experiencing symptoms of iron deficiency? Now, how quickly would you get yourself to a doctor if you were experiencing symptoms of an acute heart disease? A lot quicker, right?

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The Connection between Iron Deficiency and Heart Failure

Today, in honour of Heart Month, I want to talk about the link between iron deficiency and heart failure because it’s far more common than you might realize.

According to a paper published in the Cardiology Journal Heart, iron deficiency is present in 30 – 50% of patients with heart failure and has been associated with poorer medical outcomes including a higher risk of death.

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