Warning signs:
1. Exhaustion that lasts over a month
2. Dark circles under the eyes.
3. You feel cold.
4. Your skin is paler than usual. Face and palms have lost all their color. Women may lose color in their skin during their monthly cycle.
5. You can’t focus and concentrate, women especially during monthly cycle.
6. You have brittle nails and may suffer from hair loss.
7. Weakness and tired, hard to make it through a day or school or work.
8. Decrease in immune function makes you susceptible to colds, pneumonia and illness.
9. You crave, dirt, clay, ice.
10. Crack on side of mouth.
11. Bleeding gums during menstrual period or prior to it.
12. Heart palpitations after short periods of exertion.
13. Heavy breathing after short periods of exertion.
14. Dizzy on standing
Susceptible populations:
1. Pregnant women
2. Pre-term babies and low birth weight babies.
3. Older infants and toddlers.
4. Teenage girls.
5. Women having heavy menstrual periods.
6. People with renal failure, on dialysis.
7. People with gastrointestinal disorders.
8. People bleeding internally.
9. Intense regular workouts.
10. Poor diet
Supplementing your iron-poor blood with extra iron (side effects dark stools, constipation) may be necessary if you are showing signs of deficiency. Anemic or iron- poor individuals need to increase their iron intake for a time until health returns, dropping down to normal daily allowances once this happens. Of course, your supplementation needs to come from your food choices first or adding iron-rich foods to your regular diet. As long as you have iron-poor blood you are not getting the much needed oxygen to your cells, blood, vital organs, brain and heart, and are prone to other illnesses. People need iron to replace what has been lost.
Junk food and the role it plays
Iron intakes is negatively influenced by low nutrient density foods. Research shows that average diet of a child and teen 8-18 years, 30% of their diet is made up of low nutrient density foods, the best way to assure your child’s health is to replace that 30% with iron-rich nutrient dense foods. Children and teens growing rapidly may not get enough iron from their diet. The best way to know about your blood count is by having a blood test done by a physician or health practitioner or you can order online.
The World Health Organization research shows 80% of the word populations is iron-deficient, while 30% is anemic or iron-poor.
Recommended daily allowance:
· A newborn infant is said to be born with enough iron to last through the first 4-6 months of its life.
· 7-12 months 11 mg. daily.
· 1-3 years 7 mg daily.
· 4-8 years 10 mg. daily.
· 9-13 years 8 mg. daily.
· 14-18 years; males 11 mg., females 15 mg. daily.
· 19-50 years; males 8 mg., females 18 mg., pregnancy 27 mg. daily.
Supplementation:
· 7-12 months 40 mg. a day.
· 1-13 years 40 mg. a day.
· 14-18 years 45 mg. a day.
· 19 + years 45 mg. a day.
Food sources of iron:
Breast feeding is the best source for an infant to receive their iron. If you can’t breast feed then using a formula supplemented with iron is the next best thing. Don’t use iron poor milk such as cow or goat milk until the child is at least 12 months in age.
· 3 oz oysters 10.2 mg.
· 1 oz dry cereals 1.2-10.2 mg.
· 1 cup cooked spinach 6.5 mg.
· 3 oz. organ meats 5.2-9.9 mg.
· 1 oz pumpkin or squash seeds 4.5 mg.
· 3 oz. grilled trout 4 mg.
· 1 tbsp black strap molasses 3.5 mg.
· 3 oz. beef, top sirloin 2 mg.
· ½ cup kidney beans 2.6 mg.
· ½ cup cooked kale 2 mg.
· ½ cup tofu 6.2 mg.
· 1 medium baked potato 1.9 mg.
· 1.2 cup cooked asparagus 1 mg.
· ½ cup cooked quinoa 1.4 mg.
· ¼ cup raisins 1.4 mg.
· 1 small pear .3 mg.
· 1 tsp. flaxseeds .2 mg.
· ½ cup tomato puree 2 mg.
Iron-rich beverages
Per 1 cup:
· Peach
· Plum
· Apricot
· Nectarine
· Apple
· Currants
· Elderberries
· Guava Nectar
· Ovaltine
· Honeydew Melon
· Tamarind
· V-8, tomato juice
· Carnation Breakfast Drink
· Slim Fast Optima Shakes
· Prune Juice
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