Iron deficiency – what to eat with IBS

Have you been trying to increase your iron levels? Many people don’t eat or absorb enough iron, leading to iron deficiency, and it can have a big impact on our health.

In fact, world wide iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency.

What does iron do in our body?

It’s a vital mineral for our health. As well as helping the transport of oxygen around the body in haemoglobin, iron is a co-factor supporting the work of enzymes to make hormones, amino acids, neurotransmitters and collagen (for healthy skin and bones).

Since it’s a big part of our energy cycle, even a slight reduction in iron from your diet could potentially interfere with your motivation and energy levels. Iron deficiency anaemia may even be mistaken for apathy and/or being less mentally alert.

Who is at risk of anaemia?

The groups most at risk of iron deficiency anaemia are

• children aged 1½–2½ years,
• girls aged 15–18 years,
• women aged 35–49 years,
• institutionalised men aged 65 years and
• over, and free-living adults aged 85 years and over

There is a lot we can do to help increase our iron levels through diet and lifestyle.

Preventing iron deficiency – Iron rich foods

There are two types of iron we can absorb from our diet –

1. Haem iron found in animal products (meats, poultry, fish) and
2. Non-haem iron (found mostly in plant foods).

Including the following foods in your diet can provide iron:

• Dark leafy green vegetables i.e. parsley, spinach
• Red meat, organ meats, oysters, clams, poultry
• Pine nuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
• Legumes, beans, lentils, soybeans
• Apricots, raisins

A strong source of iron is liver, 100g can provide 6mg of iron!

A cup of lentils will provide around 6mg, but this is non-haem iron so not as easily absorbed. It can be useful to build plant based iron rich foods in each day if you don’t eat meat.

How much iron do we need?

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of iron in the UK is 8.7mg a day for men and 14.8mg a day for women. 

Iron stores – Ferritin

As we eat more, surplus iron is stored in the protein ferritin, primarily in the liver but also in the bone marrow and spleen.  Ferritin is what your doctor looks at on a blood test to see how you’re storing iron.

Vegetarians typically have lower ferritin levels, and some studies have found low iron is more pronounced in vegetarian men. If you don’t eat a lot of haem iron you’ll need to eat sources of iron rich foods. The other group this applies to is vegetarian menstruating women as iron losses can be significant with a heavy bleed each month.

However, it’s easy to get enough iron on a vegetarian diet by regularly eating plant based sources such as soy beans, tofu, lentils, kidney beans, seeds, dried fruits and black strap molasses.

Should I take an iron supplement?

It’s not advised to supplement with iron unless you know you’re low in iron and that’s been confirmed on a blood test. This is because if we have too much iron floating around the body it can become a pro-oxidant, causing damage to cells.

Some people can benefit from taking supplements to enhance their diet, but speak to a health professional before taking iron supplements.

Iron from supplements is not as well absorbed as iron from food, so eating an iron rich diet is preferable.

How can I improve dietary iron absorption?

Firstly it’s important to heal any inflammation in the gut.

Cells in the gut wall control iron absorption by holding iron temporarily as the body assesses whether the diet has brought enough iron in that day or not.

These cells are typically shed every 2-3 days and excreted, but if there is inflammation, the cells can be damaged and absorption impaired.

Things that negatively affect iron absorption

• Avoid wheat bran with your iron rich foods, because this can impair absorption.
• Avoid drinking tea before or after meals because the tannin can interfere with iron absorption.
• High levels of calcium in the diet can also reduce iron levels
• Gut bacteria overgrowth may reduce iron absorption

Please contact me if you’re struggling with your diet and digestive symptoms, email info@goodnessme-nutrition.com to arrange a free call where we can chat about working together.