Are You Getting Enough Iron?

In the years preceding my diagnosis as someone with colon cancer, there were signs. There were two signs especially related to iron deficiency:

* I kept getting turned down when I tried to give blood. I couldn't pass the iron test.

* Finally my doctor told me I was anemic, lacked iron, and suggested I take a supplement.

I started taking supplements, but I have to tell you: my intestinal tract wasn't happy. I quit taking the supplements before the week was out.

Eventually a colonoscopy uncovered that I had a large polyp in my colon that was sucking blood, and, indeed, iron out of the blood. I was anemic all right, but the cause was cancer.

Do you get enough iron? Below is an article by Remedy magazine:

"Up to 8 out of every 10 teenage girls and premenopausal women are deficient in iron--the key carrier of oxygen through the body. The deficiency can result in fatigue, poor concentration and sleep problems. Most iron deficiencies go undetected because routine blood tests only check for anemia, the final stage of iron deficiency. If you suspect you might be low in iron, ask your doctor about a serum ferritin test; it's a more sensitive indicator of iron status than hemoglobin or hematocrit tests. Also:

* Eat some extra-lean red meat. The iron in meat (heme iron) is well absorbed; the iron in plant foods is not. Add meat to a stir-fry, spaghetti sauce or chili, and you boost absorption of the nonheme iron found in beans, pasta and vegetables.
* Cook in a cast-iron skillet. Your food will absorb iron.
* Eat vitamin C-rich food, such as orange juice, broccoli or strawberries, at meals. Vitamin C boosts iron absorption and counteracts some compounds (such as phytates in brown rice) that block iron absorption.
* Select iron-fortified foods. While their iron isn't well absorbed, such foods do add some to the diet.
* Drink tea and coffee between meals, not with food. Both of these beverages contain tannins, compounds that block iron absorption.
* Ask your doctor about supplements. A moderate iron supplement should be considered if daily caloric intake falls below 2,500 calories and serum ferritin levels below 20mcg/L. Severe deficiency requires prescription supplements."