IRONFe

26

AS A NUTRIENT

CONTENTS

What does iron do for the body? When/why could I need more iron?

What is Iron Deficiency/Iron Deficiency Anemia?

What happens if I take too much iron? How much iron is enough?

How can I get iron?

Slide 3

Slide 6

Slide 9

Slide 12Slide 16

Slide 19I am not a doctor, dietician, or nutritionist. Consult with one of them if you feel

the need. I am only a person who has done a lot of research and had fun putting it into a presentation for you. Enjoy

What

does

IRON

do

for

the

body?

O2

Essential part of the blood to deliver oxygen throughout the body

Iron

O2

Essential to receive and distribute oxygen in muscles and tissue

It’s a building block in connective

tissues

and helps build DNA

Just to name a few

Iron?

When/Why

could

I

need

more

If you’ve worked out intensely

Red blood cells are destroyed, meaning Oxygen carrying compounds in red blood cells that rely on iron are also destroyed

If you have chronic or heavy blood loss

Need I say more ladies? Of course, if you have any hernias, ulcers, etc., you may need extra iron, too.

If you either aren’t getting enough in your diet

or your body isn’t letting enough in(Comes with certain conditions. Let your doc

know if you have had iron, but still have symptoms of anemia, addressed later)

If you’re pregnant

It’s like making soup. The mass of your body is increasing, and there’s another body inside of you, so the amount of blood increases. If you increase the amount of soup, you increase the amount of each ingredient, and iron is an important one

What is Iron Deficiency/Iron Deficiency

Anemia?Any of the

above causes for

iron loss got out of

control and oxygen

delivery is impaired

You can skip the next 2

slides if this has been

ruled out or confirmed by

a doc.

Symptoms that way (it’s a long list)

Extreme fatigue (∪ ｡∪ ) ｡｡｡ zzzPale skin （ ´□ ｀

川）Weakness （ﾉ ´д ｀）

Shortness of breath ヘ ( ゜Д 、゜ ) ノ

Headache へ（ >_<へ )Dizziness or lightheadedness ( _ )⊙ ◎

Cold hands and feet /(*ι*) ヾIrritability ( Д )≧ ≦

Inflammation or soreness in the tongue ((´ ｀ ))

Brittle nails ヾ (´A ｀ )ノﾟ

_∪

Rapid heartbeat ( ´△ ｀♥ )

(In rare cases)Unusual craving for non-nutritive substances( 。・・ )_ 且 (Such as ice, dirt, or starch)

Poor appetite in children and infants ( 　 ゜ Д ゜ )⊃旦

Uncomfortable tingling or crawling feeling in the legs ヾ ( ｡ꏿ﹏ꏿ )ﾉﾞ

WARNINGIt’s not a good idea to self diagnose iron deficiency, since iron toxicity

(covered in the next section) is a concern. If you think you’re deficient in iron, make sure to see a doctor.

What

happens

if

I

take

too

much

iron?

Iron

Poison

ing

Within 6 hours

Vomiting (blood or otherwise) （；￣ д ￣）Explosive diarrhea (′︿｀｡ )Irritability ( Д )≧ ≦ Gut pain o(╥ ﹏╥ )o

Fatigue (∪ ｡∪ ) ｡｡｡zzz

Rapid heartbeat (๑ ・ ω-) ～♥”

Rapid breathing ( Д )⁼³₌₃ↀ ↀ

Coma (*_*)

Low blood pressure `( ๑ ๑△ )`*

෴

Condition will appear to improve for up to 24 hours.

However, it is only the calm before the storm. Take this opportunity to get to a hospital. Depending on the amount of iron eaten, new symptoms appear in 12-48 hours. Then again in 2-5 days. Then one more in 2-5 weeks. Death can be the end result.

Merck Manual - Iron Poisoning

Here is a link to the other symptoms up to death if you should need to know them.

Iron poisoning is the leading cause of poisoning in children.

They need to take less iron to achieve the right balance

H o w m u u c h

i r o n

ne ?

si

o u g h

After puberty and before menopause, women need 15-18mg a day.

Children and men of all ages only need 8mg a day

Pregnant women need 27mg a day

If you’re deficient, you’ll need 150-300 mg a day (only if a doctor says so)

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Food

The body only absorbs 5%-35% of the iron it takes in, usually on the lower end of that.

There are 2 types of iron that comes from food, one from meat, and the other from non-meats.

Best Meat Sources of Iron

Iron in meat is the most readily available to the body.

Beef or chicken liver

Mollusks

Sardines

Cooked turkey If you can’t get any of these, most meats have iron in them.

Best Non-Meat Sources of Iron

Eat more of these to get the same amount of iron

Cereals enriched with iron

Tofu

Pumpkin, sesame, or squash seeds

Dried apricots

Broccoli

Wheat germ

Cooked Spinach

Baked potato

Supplements

Over the counter iron supplements

Dosage will vary, but will always be higher than what a healthy person needs. Only take these if a doctor has confirmed iron deficiency.

Prescribed Iron Supplements

These usually have a higher dose per pill and are more absorbable. Only severely iron deficient and anemic people will be able to tolerate doses this high.

Multivitamin with iron

A good way to maintain iron levels. Multivitamins are easy to find and inexpensive, but pay attention to quality, if you have that luxury. (Hint: there’s a good quality one below. Yes, it’s one I sell.)

Isotonix Multivitamin w/Iron

Helps Absorb Iron

Vitamin C/Citric acid

Beef

Poultry

Eating any of these, or taking vitamin C, with iron or iron containing-foods will help the body absorb non-meat iron better. Yes, I also think it’s kind of redundant to include beef and poultry in this list.

Hurts Iron AbsorptionEggs

Calcium

Zinc

MagnesiumThe square picture is unattractive, but magnesium burning is just cool.

Copper

Wait 2 hours after taking in any of these before taking in iron, and wait 1 hour after taking in iron to take in any of these.

Tea

Coffee Cocoa

Fiber

Iron is absolutely necessary to deliver oxygen throughout the body.

But too much of it is very unpleasant at best, even deadly, especially for children.

The body has developed a way to regulate iron absorption from food, but if you think you are deficient or have overdosed, see a doctor.

There are plenty of foods that provide iron. If you still don’t feel you get enough, a good multivitamin safely do the trick, as long as you only take the recommended dose.

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