Do you worry dry skin, nail fragility, hair loss, fatigue and weakness? You may have a lack of iron in the body. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a third of all women of reproductive age in the world suffers from iron deficiency, the same figure reaches 40% among pregnant women and children under 5 years.
What is iron?
Iron is a biochemical element of our body, the component of key metabolic processes. Iron is contained in hemoglobin molecules and supplies oxygen organs. When the hemoglobin decreases, the first signs of the lack of oxygen in the blood - dizziness, fainting, rapid heartbeat.
The reason for hair loss can be a shortage of iron
Photo: unsplash.com.
Other important iron functions:
Iron participates in the synthesis of genital hormones
Supports immunity
Supports heart health
Plays an important role in providing skin tone and hair quality and nails
Provides a healthy course of pregnancy (prevents hypoxia of the fetus, reduces the risk of premature pregnancy)
Especially prone to iron deficiency of a woman with abundant menstrual bleeding - it depletes iron reserves, which, mainly, exist in the body in the form of ferritin (the so-called iron depot). It is the figure of ferrithin that every woman should track if in the near future it plans to become a mom. On the exhaustion of the iron stock indicators of ferritin less than 30 μg / l. Such a state can lead to the development of chronic iron deficiency - anemia. To other reasons, the lack of iron includes a diet with a low content of protein food. It is important to know that an elevated iron level in the body, on the contrary, may indicate an inflammatory process. The treatment of anemia depends on the degree of deficit in the body. In the early stages it is possible to compensate for iron reserves with a special diet, taking the dietary dietary supplement.
Another symptom of the deficit - dryness and mounted skin
Photo: unsplash.com.
What products to use
Fans of coffee and strong tea is important to remember that caffeine destroys the iron, so the use of drinks with a high caffeine content is recommended to minimize. Also reduce the bioavailability of iron dairy products: they should be used separately from products containing iron. These include: beef liver, lentil, tomato juice, spinach, potatoes, white beans. Some vitamins improve the absorption of iron - it includes vitamin C, vitamins of group B and folic acid. Calcium and tannin, on the contrary, interfere with the gland to be absorbed.