In this video, we’re going to talk about iron deficiency. Iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency in the world.
Iron is involved in: • Oxygen transport through the blood • Energy production • DNA synthesis • Hemoglobin • Myoglobin • Neuroglobin • T-lymphocyte
Symptoms of low iron include: • Fatigue • Increased heart rate • Rapid breathing • Low endurance • Restless legs syndrome (RLS) • Poor concentration or ADD • Poor memory
The average person needs about 8mg of iron each day. Post-menopausal women need 18mg per day, and pregnant women need 27mg per day.
Animal sources of iron are far more absorbable than plant sources. It is much easier to get iron from meat, chicken, and fish.
To absorb iron, you also need: • Vitamin A • Copper • Zinc
Avoid iron supplements made from ferrous oxide. Instead, get your iron from natural food sources.
Avoid taking calcium supplements with your iron supplements because it can block the absorption of iron. Instead, take calcium a couple of hours after you take iron.
Low iron can cause poor conversion of T4 to T3 (thyroid hormones).
The most common causes of iron deficiency include: • Celiac disease • IBS • Low stomach acidity • Gastric bypass • Inflammation • Phytic acid (legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds) • Soy • Vegan diets
Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio: Dr. Berg, age 57, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan, and is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.
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Hey, guys.
Dr. Berg here.
In this video, we're going to talk about iron deficiencies, okay?
Iron is the most common deficiency.
So let's just kind of break it down to make it really basic.
Iron is needed for oxygen transport through the blood, okay?
It also is involved in producing energy at the cellular level.
It actually helps make DNA.
It helps with hemoglobin, myoglobin, which is basically the transport oxygen system to
the blood and also to the muscle.
So iron is needed to transport oxygen to the different parts of the body.
And then neuroglobin, which is basically similar to these other oxygen transports, but it goes
to the central nervous system, like the brain, spinal cord, and that type of thing.
But iron also helps make T cells, so it's involved in the immune system.
So the symptoms of iron deficiency are fatigue, kind of washed out.
And if a woman actually has really heavy menstrual cycles, they can be anemic and they have low
iron and they're just kind of always tired, chronically fatigued.
Increased heart rate, rapid breathing, especially when you go up inclines.
Low endurance, you run out of gas real fast.
Restless leg syndrome is an iron deficiency.
It could be other things, but iron is one of the causes.
Attention deficit disorder, problems with concentration, especially in kids and adults.
Poor memory, involved with low iron, interesting, right?
So normally we need about eight milligrams of iron per day.
Postmenopausal women need 18 grams of iron.
That's 10 grams more per day than the average person.
Pregnant woman needs 27 milligrams of iron every single day.
Yes, iron is in spinach, it's in vegetables, it's in legumes, it's in beans.
But the challenge is that the animal sources of iron are much more absorbed by the body.
You can still get it if you're a vegetarian, for sure, if you actually have a variety of
vegetables.
But it's much easier to get it from meats and chicken and fish and that type of thing.
Now, other nutrients needed to absorb iron, you need vitamin A. So when you have people
who are deficient in iron, they're usually deficient in vitamin A at the same time.
Copper, zinc, so you need these other minerals.
And by the way, when you're taking iron as a supplement, a lot of times they use something
called ferrous oxide, which is, I don't recommend that source.
It's not the best source for the body.
And you want to get it from food if at all possible.
But if you're actually taking iron as a supplement and you take it at the same time as you take
calcium, chances are you're not going to absorb it.
So you want to take your iron and take your calcium later, about two hours later.
Don't combine those two.
When you're low in iron, you have poor conversions from T4 to T3.
So the thyroid needs iron for its conversions.
So one of the causes of an iron deficiency is, yes, maybe you're a vegan, but you're
not doing it correctly and you're having just maybe too many refined grains.
That could be a cause of your iron deficiency.
If you're a celiac or IBS, or you have a digestive issue, or a low stomach acid, you're not going
to be able to absorb iron that well.
Or if you have a gastric bypass, we have chronic inflammation, you're not going to absorb iron.
And this is interesting too.
There's something called phytic acid.
And that is something naturally in legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds.
And if you're consuming those foods and they're not germinated, you're going to actually block
the absorption of iron and other minerals.
So here's the catch-22.
If you consume those foods, you need to germinate them, which basically means soak them in water
overnight, dry them out, and then consume them.
Now there are certain conditions, genetic conditions, that have too much iron in the
liver because the liver is the organ that stores most of the iron.
And it can become very, very toxic.
So what I recommend in that situation to remove the iron is to consume legumes, grains, seeds,
and nuts that are not germinated so you can try to limit this toxic iron and maybe take
more calcium as well.
All right?
So that's just some basic data on iron.
And put your comments below.
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