There are no reliable statistics on the number of women who lack iron (the numbers vary from three to three depending on the source). But, if I am to believe my experience, it runs the streets.
The lack of iron is manifested by hair loss, nails that split, pallor, great fatigue, morale at half mast ...
Iron helps the blood carry oxygen. In lack of iron, your cells are less oxygenated. You are short of breath and tired, and the cells in your skin, nails, and hair are in pain.
The ideal level of ferritin is between 50 and 100 micrograms per liter. Still, it's common to see women at 20, 10, 5.
The worst part is that no one is worried about them.
They are anxious, tired. They don't “understand” what is happening to them. They try to take it upon themselves, to sleep, but it's no use. They believe they are aging at a rapid pace. But no!
It is difficult to assimilate, the reserves take a long time to replenish
The problem with iron is that it's hard to digest. Reserves take long months to rebuild when, finally, the problem is taken seriously.
For premenopausal women, the problem is even more complicated because they lose it regularly (the iron is in the blood, in the hemoglobin).
Plus, eating iron-rich foods doesn't mean you are replenishing your stores. Plant iron, in particular, the one found in spinach, lentils, soybeans, and broccoli, is very poorly absorbed.
Heme iron, found in fish and meats, especially red meats, absorbs less well, but still: About 75% will be released without being absorbed in the digestive tract.
Vitamin C and beta-carotene (which turns into vitamin A) increase iron absorption
To increase the intestinal absorption of iron, be sure to eat along with your iron-rich foods, foods rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, and beta-carotene.
You find vitamin C in fruits and vegetables. It is therefore good to start meals with raw vegetables and/or end with a green salad and (fresh) fruit. The vegetables richest in vitamin C are peppers, broccoli, and cooked Brussels sprouts. The richest fruits are kiwis, lychees, strawberries, oranges, and lemons.
100 mg of vitamin C increases iron absorption by 67%. [1]
Vitamin A is mainly found in animal liver. Beta-carotene is found in vegetables and fruits: mainly oranges. Beta-carotene is also called proto-vitamin A because our body easily converts it into vitamin A.
Fruits and vegetables rich in beta-carotene are therefore those that have orange pigments: carrots, sweet potatoes, apricots, oranges, spinach (we don't see it because of the green covering the color, but spinach is very high in beta-carotene), red peppers, and collard greens, for the same reasons.
In a study of 100 people who ate cereal-based meals, the presence of vitamin A increased absorption by 200% for rice, 80% for wheat, and 140% for corn. [2]
If you like carrot juice, it's a great source of vitamin C, but also beta-carotene.
Meat and fish help absorb iron from fruits and vegetables
Also, it is important to know that fish and meats stimulate the absorption of non-heme iron. In other words, you will absorb the iron from your spinach better if you eat steak at the same time.
The difference is considerable because the absorption rate is doubled or tripled with 75 grams of meat.
It is in the interest of eating both types of foods (animals and plants) together.
Raw cereals, tea, coffee, and calcium also slow down its absorption.
Other foods, on the other hand, slow down the absorption of iron. They are therefore to be avoided particularly if you are anemic.
It's phytic acid, which is found in raw grains, and also in raw legumes (but these are very rarely eaten raw).
The effect of phytic acid is very strong, 250 mg sufficient to block 82% of iron absorption.
But iron is also blocked by polyphenols, aromatic molecules found in abundance in tea and coffee. This does not mean that you should stop tea and coffee, just that you should not drink it during meals (or at the end of a meal) if you lack iron.
Finally, calcium slows down the absorption of iron. This is a more complicated problem because calcium is very common in the diet. It's not just in dairy products. It is even found in tap water (a limestone is a form of calcium).
Fortunately, if you take the other steps mentioned in this letter, you may be overlooking the effects of calcium on iron absorption.
A thought for children
Women aren't the only ones who lack iron. It happens regularly that growing children are in deficit, which explains their fatigue.
2-6% of European children suffer from anemia. [3] It is annoying for them because a lack of iron in early childhood causes a drop in Intelligence Quotient (IQ). [4]
If in doubt, have your child’s ferritin level checked by a laboratory for testing, and take nutritional measures to restore iron levels.
To your health!
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9482776
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11029010
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4235202/
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17691592
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