A lack of iron is more serious than you might think. According to the Iron Disorders Institute, over half of the world's population has a disorder linked to iron imbalance. Iron-deficiency anaemia affects up to 40% of British women under 34, who commonly mistake its symptoms for stress. Read our guide for the lowdown on iron-deficiency anaemia.
What is anaemia?
A deficiency of iron doesn't sound particularly harmful, but it can be a highly serious condition. In extreme cases, a blood transfusion may be needed. The symptoms are not always easy to detect until you need treatment.
All body cells require oxygen to function efficiently, which the red blood cells carry from the lungs to the tissues. The oxygen is transported by haemoglobin, a pigment in the red blood cells, which binds itself to the oxygen. Anaemia comes from too little haemoglobin in the red blood cells. It is believed that anaemia may play a role in causing illnesses such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis.
More than two billion people worldwide are thought to be at risk of iron-deficiency anaemia. Only 6% of women have anaemia, but as many as 40% of women (and almost half of teenage girls) in Britain lack iron in their diet.
What are the symptoms?
Anaemia has several symptoms, most of which can easily be dismissed as stress:
Excessive tiredness and lethargy
Shortness of breath
Pale skin
Palpitations (of the heart) and an irregular heartbeat
Noises in the ear
Thirst
Weight loss
Memory problems
Jaundice (yellow skin)
What causes anaemia?
Anaemia can happen for different reasons, but generally relies on one of three things happening:
The production of your red blood cells slowing down, mostly because of insufficient iron in the diet. Anaemia is also linked to the chemotherapy used in treating certain forms of cancer
Your body's destruction of red blood cells starting to increase. This can be for a variety of reasons, including an infection, chemotherapy, rheumatoid arthritis, haemoglobin defects (including sickle cell anaemia) and metabolic disorders
Blood loss, perhaps from trauma, excessive menstruation, surgery, or slow bleeding over a long period of time (in the case of a stomach ulcer, for example)
Iron-deficiency anaemia is the most common form of anaemia. Your body's iron supplies are replenished by eating iron-rich foods and anaemia tends to occur when this is disrupted. Vegetarians may miss out on eating red meat, a vital source of iron. The most common reason for the disruption is heavy periods, which cause iron deficiency in up to 14% of women in Western countries.
How is it diagnosed?
Iron deficiency can be diagnosed with blood tests. Your doctor can test for anaemia by measuring the amount of haemoglobin in your blood. The usual amount for a woman is 12-16g per decilitre (g/dL). The symptoms of anaemia are usually only obvious when the haemoglobin level drops below this amount.
How is it treated?
Treatment involves the following steps :
Making sure you take in enough vitamins (B12 and folic acid, in particular) and iron, usually by supplements
Having plenty of sleep at night and naps during the day, if you need to
Eating a well-balanced diet with a variety of iron-rich foods. These can include leafy green vegetables, liver, iron-fortified cereals, milk, red meat, oysters and dried fruit
Eating foods that are rich in vitamin C to help the body absorb iron
Eating foods rich in folic acid, including asparagus, Brussels sprouts, spinach, broccoli, cantaloupe melon, oatmeal, whole-grain cereals, wheat germ and orange juice
Moving around at a steady pace to limit dizziness and fainting
Limiting your caffeine intake - it can disrupt the iron absorption
Avoiding smoking - nicotine kills iron
Limiting your intake of alcohol (but you don't need to give it up completely).
