A friend of mine recently tried to give blood but was turned away for having low iron. It’s easy to become low in iron without realizing it. The most common symptom of iron deficiency is low energy however the fatigue sets in so slowly you don’t feel a sudden change in your energy level. You may feel a little more short of breath during exercise or a look a little pale, but then again, that could be normal considering it’s mid winter for us in the northern hemisphere! You can look a little further to see if you have any risk factors for iron deficiency. The people at highest risk for iron deficiency are women and children however anyone can become low if they don’t get enough iron rich foods in their diet. Just over 10% of women in North America are estimated to have iron deficiency. Children from ages 18 months to three years of age are at highest risk since this is often when iron fortified formula or pabulum is discontinued and growth spurts begin to deplete iron stores. Parents should be particularly proactive in serving up iron rich meals to young children since anemia can lead to irreversible effects on brain growth and development. Whether you think you are low in iron or not, it’s worth doing an inventory of your most frequent food choices and make sure you have some high iron foods to keep you topped up. The best sources of iron come from meat. “Heme iron” as it’s called, is the most easily absorbed iron. Heme comes from the word “Hemoglobin” which is the protein in our blood that carry’s iron and delivers oxygen to our tissues. Red meat and liver are among the best sources with a 3 oz serving (size of a deck of cards) providing 20-30% of an adult daily iron requirement. I can’t remember the last time I had liver, so I am thankful that extra lean ground beef will act as an appropriate substitute. Many people have cut red meat out of their diet and instead rely mainly on chicken and fish. A 3 oz serving of chicken or fish only provides 3-5% of your iron needs, much lower than red meat. For that reason I recommend choosing a meal with lean red meat about once per week to boost iron stores. If you are vegetarian, you can still meet your iron needs however you will need to consume about 30% more iron due to the fact that non-heme iron is poorly absorbed. One of the best ways to get extra iron is to choose whole grains, iron fortified cereals and dark green leafy vegetables. My kids love pasta, so I make sure I buy iron fortified pasta or whole wheat pasta. If you check the label on your pasta you can verify the iron fortification by choosing brands that have 10-20% iron listed on the label. The same goes for breakfast cereal and hot cereals like cream of wheat. An iron fortified cereal should list at least 25% iron per serving on the label. Once again plant sources of iron are not as readily absorbed as heme iron (meat sources) but you can improve the absorption by consuming some vitamin C along with your cereal, such as drinking some orange juice or slicing some strawberries or kiwi on top of the cereal. If you are thinking about self prescribing an iron supplement, you may want to think twice. Iron supplements can be harmful and should only be prescribed by your doctor after a deficiency is properly determined. Furthermore, the supplement form of iron can upset the stomach and cause constipation so your diet is your best defense against iron deficiency. My advice to my friend is to get properly checked out by her physician to find the cause of the low iron. After the cause is determined and the deficiency treated, she can join the rest of us in preventing iron deficiency by reading our food labels and choosing lean meat, whole grains and dark green leafy vegetables more often.