Iron deficiency and how to boost it
Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies, and is often on people’s minds when they think of transitioning to plant-based diets.
Iron deficiency is one of the most common nutritional deficiencies, and is often on people’s minds when they think of transitioning to plant-based diets. The truth is, surveys have found vegans/vegetarians to be no more likely to have iron deficiency anemia than meat eaters.
Yep, you heard that right – vegans and vegetarians are no more common to have iron deficiency anemia. What they do find, however, is that iron ‘stores’ (aka ferritin levels) are lower in vegans and vegetarians (but that might not be a bad thing since iron is actually a pro-oxidant and creates oxidative stress – and oxidative stress leads to chronic diseases like metabolic syndrome, heart disease and cancer.
So although you don’t want to be iron deficient, you also don’t want an excess of iron in your body).
Many people think that, to correct iron deficiency they just need more iron in their diets. Some people even go buy over the counter iron supplements without consulting a doctor first – but that is like ladling water out of a sinking boat with holes. You must patch up those holes first, THEN you can take the water out.
To correct iron deficiency, we must first understand what is causing it.
Is it really that you don’t have enough in your diet or is there something else going on?
Here are the common causes I used to encounter as a family physician:
1️⃣ Poor digestion and absorption – you are not what you eat – you are what you digest and absorb. You could be eating the best diet in the world, but if your gut health is poor, you cannot digest or absorb nutrients efficiently. So gut health must be assessed and tackled (see also below points on what stops iron being absorbed)
2️⃣ Blood loss – in women, heavy periods is the commonest cause of iron deficiency. This should be addressed before/at same time as increasing the iron in your diet. There could also be blood loss from other organs and this should be excluded if appropriate.
So what can you do to change things up?