today I'm going to talk about the

iron trap why iron supplementation

is not working for women.

Now, iron deficiency or iron depletion

is one of the most common deficiencies

I see for women and women I find are

struggling or suffering with this issue.

for a long time.

So they're on the supplements.

They've been doing it for a long time.

They get the blood test done again,

and they're still low in iron.

And then their doctor

recommends an infusion.

They have an iron infusion and

they feel great after that for

a very short period of time.

And then their iron

levels drop down again.

It is a problem.

It is a big problem.

And for a lot of women, they are so

accustomed to low iron levels and

being unable to elevate them that

they just, you know, move on with it.

Right.

But it's really detrimental to

our health because iron is such

an important nutrient because this

carries oxygen around our body.

So if we don't have enough

oxygen around our body.

We're going to feel tired.

We're not going to have the brain power.

We're not going to focus.

It gives us energy.

It helps us with our immune

system and so much more.

So the common symptoms of anemia or

iron depletion are pale skin even

pale conjunctiva, which is just,

you know, the, the part of the

eye there, uh, which goes pale.

And even the nail beds go pale

fatigue headaches kind of these

dull ache that doesn't go away.

breathlessness almost on, you know,

walking up a couple of stairs, so a

very strange kind of breathlessness.

Brain fog poor focus poor work

productivity we can get weakness

in our body we can get brittle

nails and we can get cravings.

Cravings for sugar is really

common or just any kind of weird

cravings and restless leg syndrome.

There are many more symptoms that

can come under the low iron or anemia

banner, but they are the main ones.

Okay.

Now there are different

stages of iron depletion.

So stage one is that when you have

a blood test, it'll come back and

your ferritin levels will be low.

This is a blood protein that stores

iron Stage two is when you have low

ferritin and low iron and transfer

and saturation, which is another

marker that will also be low.

And then stage three, you

have all of the above.

And so So there are different varying

degrees of iron depletion and it's

always good to identify where you're

at and make sure that this is something

that you're checking regularly.

So like I said, we don't

want to go too long.

And just kind of live with anemia

or low iron because you know, the

world's not getting the best of you.

Your family's not

getting the best of you.

Your work's not getting the best of you.

And it's, it's really hard to

enjoy your life when you're feeling

constantly tired, this kind of muscular

fatigue and these headaches, and

you're just not feeling yourself.

And there is a lot that you can do.

And I really want to explain

how the things that you may

be doing right now, okay.

What could be the number one barrier

to you having better iron levels?

so why your iron

supplementation is not working.

Number one, the dosage.

So quite often if you've got

low iron, you might be taking.

High doses of iron every day,

maybe twice a day, and you've

been doing that for a long time.

And there is a problem with that.

Okay, so our body releases

a hormone called hepcidin.

Hepcidin protects our body from

our iron levels going too high.

When iron becomes too

high, it's toxic for us.

So our body is really intelligent

and tries to balance out

and prevent this toxicity.

So it releases a hormone called hepcidin.

Now, when we try to elevate our iron

levels by really going high, going in

with high doses, even infusions, right?

But high doses of, iron

supplementation, we're going to

elevate this hormone, hepcidin.

So the higher we go in supplements,

the higher hepcidin goes.

And so the less we absorb, right?

So higher doses are a problem.

And what they found is anything over

40 milligrams a day is going to elevate

hepcidin and block iron absorption.

So 40 milligrams once a day or even every

second day, which sounds pretty crazy if

you've got low, you're in anemia, right?

It sounds pretty crazy, but that's

actually what the studies have found is

a, is a really efficient dose to elevate

iron levels and keep hepcidin low.

So hepcidin after one dose of

40 milligrams, it will stay

elevated for 24 to 48 hours.

You can see that even if we're having it

every day, it is going to cause this, you

know, barrier for us from absorbing iron.

So that is the number

one block that I see.

So too high in dosage of iron

and then not looking at the

nutrient deficiencies, right?

That's another barrier.

So when we're looking at B vitamins,

B12, B9, B6, even B2 and copper, all of

these nutrients are important cofactors

for iron absorption and utilization.

So it's not just a case of B12.

Just taking an iron supplement, we

need the co factors that go with it.

And the other reason why your

supplementation is not working

is that you haven't addressed the

underlining cause of low iron.

So yes, it can be dietary if you're

not getting enough of the dietary

sources of iron and the B vitamin

sources, but it can be other reasons.

It could be if you've got fibroids and

you have a heavy period, it can be from

gut disorders like celiacs or Crohn

inflammation in the system, right?

or an infection.

Okay.

So when our body has an infection

or inflammation, it kind of

hides the, the iron because iron

will accelerate or create more

inflammation with that infection.

And so therefore temporarily, when

we have an infection and we're sick,

our iron levels can come back as low.

And this is very normal.

And then you want to retest

again after a couple of months,

after the infection has passed.

And to see that they have restored.

But it's very, very common that

there can be a low grade infection

that is causing iron levels to

stay low regardless of your diet

and regardless of supplementation.

So what you want to do is have your blood

test done and have a look at the immune

markers to make sure there's nothing

hanging around that is causing this.

The other factor that impacts iron

absorption is gut health, right?

And I see this a lot with my clients.

So there's poor gut health.

Again, you may not have symptoms of poor

gut health, but commonly it's bloating,

it's indigestion, it's irregular bowels.

It's a number of symptoms or

it could be nothing, right?

And so if we don't have proper gut

health, such as The pH in our gut, the

microbiome, it will how our body can

absorb iron and the B vitamins that are

the cofactors that go with the iron.

Okay, so what can you do knowing that

too high of doses is going to make things

worse, that we need some cofactors with

it and there's other things going on.

So, number one, the elemental

iron dose that you want to

stick to is 40 milligrams a day.

Do not go over it.

You could even do every second day.

So studies have shown that

that is effective as well.

You want to combine the iron with

its cofactors, the folate, the B12,

the B6, the B2, and even copper.

Now the timing of your iron

supplementation is also important.

So actually, hepcidin, so

remember that hormone that I said.

You know, if we have too much

iron, it'll block iron absorption.

So, hepcidin's at its lowest in the

morning, and it will also be lower, so

say with our evening meal, if you're

having some animal protein, that is the

best time to have your iron supplement.

So, either in the morning, or

in the evening with your meal.

Second part is we're going to

look at making sure that you get

dietary sources of iron, okay?

So if you are vegan or vegetarian,

then you really will have to look

at obviously iron supplementation,

but definitely B12 as well.

But you also, if you're not vegan or

vegetarian, you want to make sure that

you're getting that from your food.

So your animal products are your

best source of iron and your B12

and your seafood and your poultry

and you want to avoid foods with

phytates, especially when you're

taking your iron supplementation.

So your nuts, your seeds, and your

pulses will, produce, phytates,

which actually block iron absorption.

And lastly, It's all good to take

the supplementation, but you have

to correct the underlining causes.

So like I said, it can be

inflammation in the system.

You can do testing to check that

like a CRP is a test which helps to

check inflammation in the system.

You want to look at your immune cells.

Is your body fighting off any

infection or any parasitic infection?

You want to, Treat any underlying gut

disorders and it could be that you

just your gut health is not optimized

So you're not digesting your food

There's probably disrupt in your pH

in your microbiome and all of that

needs to be addressed in order for you

to have proper iron Absorption now I

did a podcast on that on gut health

so you can go and listen to that one

and I'll cover that in More detail.

Okay, so they are my tips and treatment

to increase your iron levels So make

sure That you follow these steps

because like I said, iron deficiency is

really going to wreak havoc on the way

that you feel and show up every day.

So what I would love for you to do now

is leave me a comment below and let me

know, are you struggling with anemia?

Have you tried all the supplementations

and what have you tried already

and it really hasn't brought the

results that you were hoping?

Let me know in the comments below.