Iron deficiency symptoms weight loss

Hemoglobin gives your blood its red color and, thus, your skin its rosy hue. That means that low levels of the protein can suck the color straight from your skin, Dr. Moritz says. If you have a light complexion, it's pretty easy to spot. No matter your skin tone, though, if the inside of your lips, your gums, and the inside of your bottom eyelids are less red than usual, low iron may be to blame. No matter how deeply you breathe, if your oxygen levels are low, you'll feel out of air, explains Dr. If you notice yourself getting out of breath doing things that you'd normally handle just fine—be it climbing a flight or stairs or knocking out your usual workout—iron deficiency could be to blame.

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An overworked heart can end up suffering from irregular heartbeats, heart murmurs, enlargement, and even heart failure. Before you freak out, don't.

What causes iron-deficiency anemia?

For things to get that bad, you would probably have to suffer from iron deficiency anemia for quite some time, suggests a review of cardiomyopathy and iron deficiency in the Texas Heart Institute Journal. However, if you know you have heart problems, it's important to get your iron levels checked as iron deficiency can worsen existing heart problems. Can't stop fidgeting? The lower the iron levels, the worse the symptoms. An iron-deficient body will prioritize getting oxygen to your brain before it worries about other tissues, but even then, your noggin will still get less than it ideally should, Dr.

Berliner says. In response, the brain's arteries can swell, causing headaches , according to the National Headache Foundation. Called pica, craving and actually eating non-food substances can be a sign of of iron deficiency.

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Iron-deficient people may be tempted to chow down on chalk, clay, dirt, and paper. Luckily, most women opt for ice, says Dr. Berliner, who tells her anemic patients to come back to see her if they start craving ice.

As if your life wasn't stressful enough, iron deficiency can trick you into feeling even more anxious. A lack of oxygen revs up your body's sympathetic nervous system, which is kind of like your body's gas pedal, Dr. Plus, since iron deficiency can send your heart racing, it's easy to feel like you're in fight-or-flight mode even when you have every reason to feel relaxed.

Iron deficiency, especially when it progresses into full-blown iron deficiency anemia, can cause hair loss. Don't panic if there are a few hairs in your drain, though. Most scalps lose about hairs on a good day. All iron is not created equal. Your body absorbs heme iron—which comes from meat, poultry, and fish—two to three times more efficiently than non-heme iron from plants, says nutritionist Rania Batayneh, author of The One One One Diet.

Iron deficiency anaemia - Illnesses & conditions | NHS inform

You can still get enough iron with careful meal planning. Dark leafy greens, whole grains, and legumes are all rich in iron; pair them with vitamin-C-rich foods like bell peppers, berries, and broccoli to boost your absorption. Iron deficiency slows your body's thyroid function and blocks its metabolism-boosting effects, according to the National Academy of Hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism if often missed—six in 10 people with a thyroid disease don't know they have it, according to the American Thyroid Association—so if you notice low energy levels, weight gain, or even a lower body temperature, talk to your doc. Folic acid deservedly gets a lot of pre-natal press, but babies-to-be also need iron, and they can steal mom's stores.

Iron-Deficiency Anemia

What's more, many women lose a substantial amount of blood during delivery, which can lower iron counts, Dr. If you're pregnant with multiples, have pregnancies close together, or regularly vomit because of morning sickness, you may need to boost your iron intake. Besides sapping the color out of your tongue, low iron counts can reduce levels of myoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that supports muscle health, like the muscle that makes up the tongue, Dr.


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As a result, many people who are iron deficient complain of a sore, inflamed, and strangely smooth tongue. Even if you get enough iron in your diet, celiac disease and inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis can lead to problems absorbing nutrients, iron included. These conditions cause inflammation in and damage to the digestive tract. Vitamin C may be a particularly powerful iron absorption enhancer.

One study reported that adding just 63 mg of vitamin C to a meal rich in non-heme iron yielded a 2. While Vitamin C is good for your body, know what acts as an iron-absorption inhibitor? Phytic acid found in grains, legumes, and other plant foods; egg protein from both the white and the yolk; minerals like calcium, zinc, magnesium, and copper and tannic acid found in tea. This does not mean that one should stop eating them, but it would do good to avoid eating in excess or with iron rich foods.

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