Get Your Energy Back, With Iron+™
Spring is a perfect time to get more active, after a pandemic winter of binging Netflix on the couch. But if the idea of starting your garden or taking the kids for a bike ride in the park feels overwhelming, there may be something wrong.
It’s normal to have a few days of low energy. But we’re talking about the kind of ongoing fatigue that makes simple things feel like a chore. A not-normal kind of fatigue. If that’s your situation, you could be low on iron.
What are the signs of iron deficiency?
Iron helps your body make hemoglobin, a sort of taxi of your blood. Hemoglobin shuttles oxygen all over your body, which gives you your get up and go. If you’re deficient in iron, you’ll be deprived of that life-giving oxygen. Other signs you’re not getting enough of this mighty mineral include difficulty concentrating, pale skin with dark circles under your eyes, feeling cold, and brittle hair and nails. Sound familiar?
Who’s low on iron?
Anyone can be low on iron, but some groups are particularly likely to come up short:
- Women who lose blood every month through menstruation (especially those with heavy periods)
- Women who suffer from uterine fibroids
- Pregnant women, who have to make blood for two
- African-Americans, Latinx, seniors, and vegetarians
Can you get enough iron through the diet?
Getting enough iron from food alone is no easy task. The Daily Value (DV) for iron for adults and kids four years and older is 18 mg a day. Unless you’re pregnant or nursing a baby. Then it’s a whopping 27 mg a day. Just eat a lot of meat, right? Not so fast. A 3.5 ounce serving of liver has 6.5 mg iron. The same amount of ground beef? 2.7 mg. A cup of lentils has 6.6 mg, and Popeye’s favorite source of iron (raw spinach) has 2.7 mg in 3.5 ounces.<1> (But vegetarian sources of iron aren’t absorbed as well.)
What’s the best iron supplement?
Those paltry numbers are why a lot of people take an iron supplement in addition to eating plenty of iron-rich foods. But not all iron is the same. Some kinds are more easily absorbed than others. Some have uncomfortable effects like upsetting your stomach or leaving you constipated. Uh, no thank you!
When researchers tested four kinds of iron against each other in pregnant women and new moms, they found one kind of iron was the clear winner — it had good absorption and no side effects. It’s called liquid ferrous gluconate.<2> That’s the kind of iron we use in Flora Iron + Herb.
Iron+™
Flora’s Iron+™ is an easily absorbed, non-constipating, vegan, yeast and gluten-free liquid iron formula that’s made in North America. The base is made of nutritious fruit and vegetable juices, the tummy-soothing herb anise, and molasses for a touch of sweetness. (After all, it’s gotta taste good if you’re gonna take it regularly.)
In addition to iron, Iron+™ features key B vitamins, which are important for revving up your engine. They help your body extract energy from the food you eat.<3> B vitamins, especially B12, also help your body absorb iron.<4> Vitamin C helps with iron absorption, too. That’s why Flora Iron+™ provides five B vitamins and vitamin C.
So get your iron levels back up and let your inner superhero loose!
References
<1> Spritzler F., Bell AM. 11 healthy foods that are very high in iron. Healthline. 2020 Jan 27. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-healthy-iron-rich-foods
<2> Casparis D, et al. Effectiveness and tolerability of oral liquid ferrous gluconate in iron-deficiency anemia in pregnancy and in the immediate post-partum period: comparison with other liquid or solid formulations containing bivalent or trivalent iron. Minerva Ginecol. 1996 Nov;48(11):511-8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9005381/
<3> B vitamins. Medline Plus. U.S. National Library of Medicine. 2020 Sep 28. https://medlineplus.gov/bvitamins.html
<4> Marie J. Does vitamin B-12 raise iron levels in blood? SF Gate. Healthy Eating. 2018 Dec 12. https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/vitamin-b12-raise-iron-levels-blood-11782.html
