If you have recently been feeling very tired despite having adequate amount of sleep at night, you might have iron deficiency. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that about 10% of the women suffer from iron deficiency and are not even aware of it.
Why Iron Is Important?
Iron is an extremely essential mineral for the human body and is an important component for hemoglobin. This is the substance found in the red blood cells that helps carry oxygen throughout the body. If the iron levels within your body are not sufficient, then you body will not have sufficient oxygen; thereby, resulting in fatigue. Iron is also essential for maintaining healthy hair, nails, and skin.
Iron Deficiency Symptoms
Some of the common symptoms for this deficiency include the following:
- -Restless legs syndrome
- -Brittle nails
- -Chest pain
- -Cold feet and hands
- -Lightheadedness or dizziness
- -Extreme fatigue
- -Fast heartbeat
- -Frequent infections
- -Headache
- -Soreness or inflammation of your tongue
- -Pale skin
- -Poor appetite
- -Shortness of breath
- -Unusual cravings for substances like ice, starch, or dirt
- -Weakness
Five Reasons To Take Iron Supplements
Anemia
Anemia resulting from iron deficiency will result in poor oxygen availability to the body.
Pregnancy
Pregnant women require a lot more iron that those women who are not pregnant. The recommended dosage is 27 mg on a daily basis.
Regular Blood Loss
This applies to people who donate a lot of blood. They may be required to take iron supplement so that their iron levels can stay normal.
Infants
The milk of the mother does not contain sufficient iron. Therefore, babies have excess iron stores to be used for the first six months of life. Premature babies, however, might not have sufficient iron stores and might, therefore, need a special formula containing iron.
Iron Depleting Medication
Some medications are known to deplete iron. In this case, physicians might prescribe iron supplements.
Good Iron Sources
There are certain food sources that contain a lot of iron, and by consuming those foods regularly, you might not need supplements. Here are certain iron rich foods that you should take into consideration:
- -Beans
- -Dark green leafy vegetables like spinach
- -Dried fruit like apricots and raisins
- -Iron-fortified breads, pastas, and cereals
- -Peas
- -Pork
- -Poultry
- -Red meat
- -Seafood
However, before you start any dietary consumption, be sure that you speak to your health professional so that you can make the best choice with regards to your health. Iron deficiency is extremely commonly, but the good news is that it can be treated in most of the cases.
