This is the most gentle form of iron on the market today! 1 capsule = 30mg iron (as ferrous bisglycinate chelate) in veggie capsule

Iron is an important component of hemoglobin, myoglobin, and ferritin. These proteins are involved in the transport, storage, and release of oxygen to the tissues.

Iron supplementation is called for when any of the following are present: • Iron Deficiency Anemia/ Plummer-Vinson Syndrome
• Need for Supplemental Iron due to Age, Gender, Lifestyle
• Heavy Menstrual Periods

• Gastritis, Ulcer
• Social, Emotional, Learning Disorders, Breath-holding Spells in Children

Our custom formulated FORTIFY iron supplement uses fully-reacted chelates which are absorbed as foods (i.e. Protein) and as such this form of Iron will not cause the constipation seen with inorganic iron supplements. Since these chelates are absorbed as food, they do not compete with other minerals (i.e. Zinc and Copper) for absorption. The two Glycine molecules that protect the Iron (see illustration) are precursors to the protein Hemoglobin.

The (heme) component of hemoglobin is responsible for delivering iron and oxygen to peripheral tissues.

Iron deficiency presents as fatigue and is most common in individuals who experience loss of blood (menstruation, ulcers). Our FORTIFY iron supplement uses iron bis-glycinate which is less likely to have any of the gastrointestinal side- effects associated with standard iron supplementation such as constipation or gas.

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Iron – High and Low

Ferritin is a protein that contains iron and is the primary form of iron stored inside of cells. The small amount of ferritin that is released and circulates in the blood is a reflection of the total amount of iron stored in the body. Insufficient levels of circulating and stored iron may eventually lead to iron deficiency anemia (decreased hemoglobin). In the early stage of iron deficiency, no physical effects are usually seen and the amount of iron stored may be significantly depleted before any signs or symptoms of iron deficiency develop. If a person is otherwise healthy and anemia develops over a long period of time, symptoms seldom appear before the hemoglobin in the blood drops below the lower limit of normal.

The amount of ferritin stored reflects the amount of iron stored. In humans, it acts as a buffer against iron deficiency. Ferritin serves to store iron in a non-toxic form, to deposit it in a safe form, and to transport it to areas where it is required. If the ferritin level is low, there is a risk for lack of iron, which could lead to anemia.

Normally, your body brings in a steady flow of iron from the food you eat. Your body stores excess iron so it’s available as needed to make hemoglobin. Iron-deficiency anemia develops when your body uses the iron stores faster than they can be refilled, or when the flow of iron into your system has slowed. This occurs in three stages:

• First stage: Iron stores (ferritin) are depleted. In this stage, the supply of iron to make new hemoglobin and red blood cells is dwindling but hasn’t yet affected your red blood cells.
• Second stage: When iron stores are low, the normal process of making red blood cells is altered. You develop what’s called iron-deficient erythropoiesis, sometimes called latent iron deficiency.In this stage, your bone marrow makes red blood cells without enough hemoglobin.
• Third stage: Iron-deficiency anemia develops because there isn’t enough iron to make hemoglobin for red blood cells. In this stage, the hemoglobin concentration will drop below the normal range. This is when you may begin noticing iron-deficiency anemia symptoms.

Deficiency Symptoms will include :

• fatigue,
• anxiety,
• pale,
• weakness,
• fullness in epigastrium,
• trouble swallowing,
• coughing,
• dizziness and passing out,
• chest pain,
• trouble breathing,
• rapid heart beat,
• blood in stools,
• low blood pressure,
• heart murmur,
• low thyroid (due to inability to convert into thyroid hormones),
• hunger for strange substances,
• soreness of the mouth with cracks in the corners,
• cramps,
• tingling in the feet and hands
• hair loss
• headaches
• bruising
• chills
• restless legs
• increased risk of miscarriages
• Low cortisol levels and adrenal stress

Iron deficiency and anemia go hand in hand but are a bit different. The iron you absorb every day, 75% of it is going into the production of red blood cells. So when your red blood cells are low you are considered anemic. Iron is a very important cofactor for many enzymes in the body. It plays an essential role in the formation of hemoglobin (the red blood cells that carry oxygen to the rest of the body). If you are iron deficient … it can still take a while for the issue to affect the red blood cell formation and lower the hemoglobin. In fact you can develop lots of symptoms of iron deficiency long before true “anemia” is formed. This is why it just doesn’t make good sense to wait until hemoglobin, and red blood cells are low to “detect” and diagnose iron deficiency in the body! We always do a full iron panel and look at ferritin FIRST! Anemia is a later stage of iron loss.

LOW FERRITIN:

Deficiency Symptoms will include fatigue, pale, weakness, fullness in epigastrium, trouble swallowing, coughing, dizziness and passing out, chest pain, trouble breathing, rapid heart beat, blood in stools, low blood pressure, heart murmur, low thyroid (due to inability to convert into thyroid hormones), hunger for strange substances, soreness of the mouth with cracks in the corners, leg cramps, tingling in the feet and hands. Iron deficiency, especially when it progresses into full-blown iron deficiency anemia, can cause hair loss. It sends your body into survival mode, so your body channels oxygen to support vital functions as opposed to ones like keeping your hair intact.

In the setting of true anemia (low serum iron with low Hemaglobin and Hemotocrit), low serum ferritin is the most specific lab test for iron deficiency anemia. Low ferritin may also indicate hypothyroidism, vitamin C deficiency or celiac disease.

Optimally you want to complete the blood draw in the morning in a fasted state. Clients should also not take any iron supplement within 12 hours of a blood draw. In a non-fasting state you can get significant swings in transferrin levels especially in iron deficient individuals.

Serum iron concentration alone is also a poor measure of iron status in the body as levels fluctuate significantly due to diurnal variation and fasting status. Even when both morning and fasting blood draws are completed, accuracy is still hampered by the fact that iron is an acute phase reactant and could be falsely low in the case of acute inflammation.

Lower Ferritin with higher serum iron levels (referred to as: Hypoferritinemia) If you have high serum iron levels and low ferritin, you may want to check for underlying infections, oral contraceptive use, thyroid disorders and consider testing based on history for heavy metals (especially lead).

The use of cast iron skillets can be another reason for elevated levels of serum iron, especially if used in the hours before a blood draw.  The initial dosing of iron supplementation can also cause serum iron to rise to the top end of normal or even over while ferritin is slower to reach normal levels.

Bottom line… high iron with lower ferritin can occur due to: Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and celiac disease, h-pylori gut infection, hemorrhoids, colon cancer, peptic ulcer, menorrhagia, and hematuria. It also could be due to increase iron demands in pregnancy and puberty. Individuals with this issue usually complain of general weakness, asthma, depressed mood, hair loss, fibromyalgia symptoms and sub clinical hypothyroid issues.. (ref: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5629903/)

Your iron and ferritin levels are very important factor in your health. If these levels are low you may have a hard time tolerating thyroid treatment.

When ferritin levels drop below 25, the liver will often compensate by synthesizing more transferrin which leads to a pooling of iron in the blood and increased serum iron levels in the face of iron deficiency. This occurs when there’s an iron deficiency or in patients with high estrogen levels such as in pregnancy or with oral contraceptive use.

Ferritin levels of less than 75 can have effects like fatigue and an increased risk of miscarriage.  This is why it is paramount we test clients and ensure they have optimal iron levels and not just a ferritin within the normal range.

How does low ferritin affect adrenals? Good iron levels are needed for thyroid to be able to convert properly (T4 to T3) and for T3 to get to the cells as it should. Low iron causes extreme adrenal stress as your body cannot utilize thyroid properly (even your own) unless these levels are correct. Low iron also will cause your body to make more reverse T3 than T3 as it knows it cannot utilize it correctly so tries to lower the thyroid in the blood. It will also lower your TSH even when you are very hypothyroid already.

Low ferritin symptoms can mimic low cortisol, low thyroid and electrolyte imbalance symptoms. Some examples would be anxiety, high heart rate, heart palpitation, fatigue, weakness and more.

CAUSES of low iron:

1. Blood loss
2. Poor absorption (high calcium intake; low acidity due to lowered vitamin C; poor diet; high caffeine intake, etc.)
3. Medications (PPI inhibitors are the main culprit)
4. Lactation

DIET:

Coffee, tea and other Caffeine can Inhibit Iron Absorption. Several studies have found that coffee and other caffeinated drinks can reduce iron absorption. … In fact, one study found that caffeine itself only binds to about 6% of the iron from a meal. Plant-based foods contain nonheme iron, but you can still build ferritin levels by eating spinach, Kale, Moringa, broccoli and baked potatoes. For an extra boost, toss pumpkin seeds on top. One small potato, 1/2 cup of cooked spinach and 1/2 cup of broccoli each provide 1 milligram of iron, while 1 ounce of pumpkin seeds adds 4 milligrams. Ten dried apricots or 1/2 cup of raisins contains nearly 2 milligrams. One-half cup of cooked beans, lentils or soybeans has 2 milligrams to 4 milligrams of iron, but these foods contain phytic acid, which reduces absorption of nonheme iron by as much as 50 percent. 8-20 mg of intake in the diet is usually sufficient. We normally lose 1-2 mg per day through shedding of epithelial cells (which is total normal). As humans we need to consume 10X the amount lost on a daily basis.

No single food will provide all the iron you need. If you eat plant based the above should help you figure out what to eat and increase in your daily diet.

If you eat animal, even beef liver which is your richest source of iron is 6.5 mg of iron (heme iron) is not enough for a whole day. You need diversity in your diet that are high in iron.

Vitamin C significantly enhances absorption of nonheme iron, so you’ll have a bigger impact on ferritin if you include both nutrients at the same meal. For vitamin C, you could add a side dish of sweet peppers, Brussels sprouts, broccoli or sweet potatoes, or drink some vitamin-C rich orange juice or tomato juice. Combining nonheme veggies with heme-containing meat, poultry and fish also improves nonheme absorption. On the flip side, do not include milk, dairy products, coffee or tea with your meal because they inhibit nonheme absorption.

Avoid calcium supplementation at same time as iron intake. If you are also on calcium, simply take at least 4 hours away from iron. PPI inhibitors also interfere with iron absorption.

During a bacterial infection, the body shifts iron from the blood into storage compartments such as bone, liver, spleen, and lymphatic tissues. This is a protective mechanism that makes the iron unavailable to the bacteria, which needs iron for its growth.

This action, however, prevents the body from incorporating iron into the red blood cells. If the infection becomes chronic, it can create a type of anemia called “infectious anemia”. This type of anemia will not respond to iron therapy until the infection is brought under control, then the iron can be reutilized once more. Chronic infectious anemia can be spotted as an elevated iron to copper ratio on the hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) study. Many times the infection can be present for years. The most common type of infection of this nature is dental abscess.

Sequestering of iron into storage tissue also occurs in other conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and some types of malignancies. These conditions are known to cause anemia, even though tissue concentrations of iron are more than adequate. It has been found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, iron can accumulate not only in soft tissues, but within joint as well. The pancreas can accumulate iron to the point that normal insulin activity becomes impaired, and diabetes ensues. People frequently develop this condition following a serious bacterial infection.

Iron deficiency is known to weaken the immune system, making the body more susceptible to infections. The decreased immunity is probably due to other accompanying nutritional deficiencies. It is found in individuals suffering from chronic candidiasis and recurring herpes viral infections.

Iron and Mental Function

Early studies have reported a correlation between haemoglobin levels and intellectual performance in teenagers. Other studies have confirmed these findings in adults as well as children. A lack of iron can lead to a shortened attention span, a reduction in cognitive functions, minimal brain dysfunction, and hyperactivity.

HIGH FERRITIN:

A high ferritin level when Sat and iron are in the optimal range could indicate inflammation. When serum iron and % sat are low and ferritin is high it means there is inflammation or possibly infection your body is dealing with and you still would need iron. Only when % sat and serum iron is good or high would you not need more iron.

The bottom line concerning HIGH Ferritin

• Elevated ferritin levels are usually due to causes such as acute or chronic inflammation, chronic alcohol consumption, liver disease, renal failure, metabolic syndrome, or malignancy rather than iron overload
• Exclude these causes clinically or with initial tests such as full blood count, liver and renal function, and inflammatory markers (C reactive protein or erythrocyte sedimentation rate)
• A normal serum transferrin saturation (ideally fasting) usually excludes iron overload (where it is raised) and suggests a reactive cause for raised ferritin
• Unexplained serum ferritin values >1000 μg/L warrant referral for further investigation
• Consider HFE mutation screen for hereditary haemochromatosis in individuals with elevated ferritin AND a raised transferrin saturation >45%

Ideally values should be:

Saturation should be 34-45%

TIBC should be 240-450ug

Serum Iron should be 90 – 130                              

Ferritin should be 70 – 100 (certainly no lower than 45)

References:  BMJ British Medical Journal    2015; 351 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h3692 (Published 03 August 2015)Cite this as: BMJ 2015;351:h3692