Doctor shares tips for women to prevent iron deficiency

A physician chats about the times in a woman's life that are more likely to lead to an iron deficiency.

Iron is an important mineral for everyone, especially women, and nearly one third of women of reproductive age are iron deficient, with many being misdiagnosed with anxiety, stress, or thyroid issues.

Dr. Jennifer Zelovitzky, a physician and host of the Medsplaining podcast, says iron’s importance is due to its close connection to arguably the most important nutrient for our bodies – oxygen.

“When you think iron, think oxygen. Iron is an essential mineral that is a key component of hemoglobin and myoglobin, which carry the oxygen to all the cells in our body,” she says.

“Fatigue, shortness of breath, pale skin. If we don’t have enough iron, we may not have enough oxygen.”

Zelovitzky says it’s especially important for women to keep track of their iron as a deficiency could be caused by a number of factors, such as menstrual cycles, change in diets, and even pregnancy.

“Pregnancy, our blood volume increases, which therefore increases our need for iron, and so often women are put on a prenatal supplement, which one of the key components of that is iron to allow us to grow that other human within us,” says Zelovitzky.

“And then we have delivery and labour., which can often lead to some blood losses, and then after we’re not always taking care of ourselves nutritionally when we’re taking care of that new baby.”

Zelovitzky adds that diet is a very important component in ensuring someone has enough iron.

There are two types of iron; heme iron, which comes from animal products such as eggs, meat, and fish, and non-heme iron, which comes from non-animal products like chickpeas, beans, and leafy greens.

“It’s important to know, if you’re predominantly having non-heme iron sources, you want to take it with a source of vitamin C, so bell peppers, citrus fruit, berries, that helps to increase the absorption,” said Zelovitzky.

“If you’re really struggling to get enough iron from your diet, supplements, which again can be heme or non-heme versions, can be very helpful just to make sure you’re hitting those iron targets that you and your doctor would be establishing.”

Zelovitzky says it’s important to be direct with your doctor, and to get blood tests.

“Tell them the type of diet you have, what your concerns are, make sure they’re aware if you’re having heavy periods, and ask for those key blood tests, which would be a complete blood count and a ferritin count, along with maybe some more detailed iron studies to determine what type of anemia you might have and the best way to resolve it.”