Anemia is the result of the body receiving too little iron for too long. “If you’re low on iron, the body will protect red blood cell production first,” says Malcolm Munro, MD, FRCSC, FACOG, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, Los Angeles.
This can have serious consequences for the entire body. “Iron is responsible for [many] enzymatic processes in the body, including those in [the] brain, the repair of DNA, and making liver enzymes,” Munro explains.
And because we can’t survive without oxygen transport, hemoglobin is maintained at the expense of all the other iron-dependent systems.
Prior to full-blown anemia, a host of other symptoms related to iron deficiency may appear: restless legs syndrome, exercise intolerance, brain fog, fatigue. All are good reasons to have your iron levels checked.
Anyone who menstruates is more likely to suffer from both anemia and suboptimal iron levels. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five U.S. women experiences especially heavy menstrual cycles, called menorrhagia, which can increase anemia risk. “But it’s been normalized, so much iron deficiency is missed in women,” says Munro.
Recent studies suggest that more than one-third of premenopausal American women may be low in iron. Pregnancy can also increase the body’s demand for iron.
Low iron has a cumulative effect, Munro points out. Heavy periods in adolescence and young adulthood are a setup for anemia during pregnancy, and low iron in pregnancy poses risks to infant health.
“Low maternal iron in pregnancy has been linked to neurodevelopment disorders,” he explains. These include ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and learning disabilities.
Yet many healthcare practitioners don’t know this. Until she was pregnant herself, functional-medicine practitioner Myrto Ashe, MD, MPH, didn’t think about iron unless patients were anemic. “Suddenly, I felt out of breath going up stairs. I was so tired,” she recalls. Shortness of breath is a sign of low iron; it signals a lack of oxygen in the blood.
After starting an iron supplement, Ashe’s symptoms went away within a week. That’s when she started taking iron seriously.
Everything You Need to Know About Iron
Iron is an essential mineral — yet too many of us aren’t getting enough. Learn more about how to check your iron levels, as well as how to boost them, at “Everything You Need to Know About Iron,” from which this article was excerpted.
