Blood and Water, Iron and Copper - Part 3
In Part 1 of this little series on Iron, we explored how when you are prone to iron deficiency it’s really common to also be anxious, highly sensitive, shy, have an aversion to conflict and find speaking up difficult. Today let’s take a look at this tendency for women to be iron deficient, more so than men, and how this relates the interesting polarity between Iron and Copper…
A holistic approach to Iron deficiency
In Part 1 of this little series on iron deficiency, we explored how it’s common when you are prone to iron deficiency to also be prone to anxiety, to be highly sensitive, have an aversion to conflict and find speaking up difficult. We found understanding the nature of iron can tell us why, and how we can support our iron replenishment holistically (if you haven’t read Part 1, I recommend heading over here first to get the most from this part). In our body, Iron has alot to do with how grounded, warm, embodied and confident we feel. In Part 2 we explored remedies from this understanding of iron.
You are probably reading this because, despite all your efforts to increase your iron, low iron levels persist. If you have a period, you may have been told that low iron is just going to be a reality while you have your period. You may even have been prescribed the pill to stop your period to try to increase your iron stores.
Today let’s take a look at this tendency for women to be iron deficient, more so than men, and how this relates the interesting polarity between Iron and Copper. The more deeply we understand nature, the more we understand ourselves and our tendency to iron deficiency.
Beginning with archetypes
Archetypes help us to understand something more deeply through contrast, by placing something beside a polar characteristic and making a comparison. I am going to use the archetypes of male and female, woman and man, feminine and masculine here, and it’s really important to say that these are not definitives. Not all people with a uterus identify as a woman or feminine. And not all women have a uterus, a period or carry children. Not all people live in a defined polarity of woman and man but are fluid between a spectrum of experience and identity.
I’ll use these archetypes here so we can understand the extremes, then of course we’ll come back to you as an individual. You can use this to think about your experience of iron deficiency, to understand more about yourself and how it relates to you as an individual wherever you identify in the spectrum of human beings.
Understanding the patterns
Iron deficiency is common, and it’s especially common for women and folks with a period. The central group of people affected by iron deficiency are firstly menstruating people, then children, and elderly people.
Most commonly, males have much higher iron stores and iron in their blood than females do. When testing your iron stores (your ferritin), the reference ranges are different to accommodate this tenancy. For menstruating females, you’ll notice on your blood tests that the reference range is around 15-200 µg/L, and for men, it is around 30-300µg/L.
When it comes to iron from food, the recommended daily intake for men from middle childhood through their whole adult life is 8mg daily. For women from middle childhood it is 15mg of iron daily, from 19-50 years old it’s 18mg of iron daily, and during pregnancy, it’s 27mg of iron daily!
The daily iron requirements are around 80% higher for women, and 20% of Australian women don’t reach these daily requirements compared with 3% of men. It is young women between the ages of 14 and 18 years old that get the least iron in their diets, 40% of this age group don’t reach their daily iron needs. We also know that women are more commonly vegetarian or vegan in Australia, especially in this age group when periods are beginning.
Typically, iron intake and needs remain relatively stable for men across the span of their lives. Women tend to lower levels of iron in their bodies, and iron needs change throughout life, during phases of menstruation, pregnancy, breastfeeding and menopause.
Iron and your period
Interestingly before puberty, there is no real difference in red blood cells or iron storage between children. The change begins in puberty, where reproductive transformation stands out alongside a great amount of personal growth for young people. Perhaps it was around this time that iron deficiency began for you?
Then, on the other side of puberty after menopause, the second hormonal transformation, women are liberated in a sense from reproductive life as it was, and again after a little time there is generally no real difference in red blood cells or iron storage between older men and women. Just as in childhood.
Understandably, this has led to the conclusion that periods are the main cause of lower levels of iron and iron deficiency. Menstruation begins during puberty and each monthly period a certain amount of iron is released with bleeding. This is why the pill is sometimes prescribed to women to address iron deficiency, heavy periods or not. The thinking is if we stop ovulation and induce a type of menopause, there will be no monthly loss of iron.
Periods are different, from one body to the next. Many menstruating people don’t bleed at all and still experience iron deficiency, without other factors that affect iron. I see a diverse range of people with low iron in my clinic, and my question became; what if lower iron in menstruating people was not because of periods. Is it something to do with the deeper nature of iron and an important part of our reproductive constitution? Is lower iron something that is intrinsically linked with our reproductive life in this time?
In Part 1 we spoke about the Earth’s iron magma core and gravitational pull. We also spoke about mammals of the Earth and creatures of the sea. How as people on the Earth we are affected by gravity more so than our buoyant sea friends, who interestingly have a lesser concentration of iron in their blood than us standing on the earth.
Let’s bring to mind an archetypal male and female, and why this iron difference may exist.
The archetypal male’s reproductive organs, his penis and testes, are on the outside of his body. Of course, his prostate gland and seminal vesicles are within his pelvic bowl, but predominantly his reproductive organs are on the outside of his body, more influenced by the forces of gravity and exposed to the elements. They’re in contact with air, light and the temperature outside.
The archetypal female has her reproductive organs, her uterus and ovaries, suspended inside her body, in a body of fluid like the sea. Her pelvic bowl houses her reproductive organs, surrounded by warmth. Her organs are buoyant, protected from the outside world and elements, the temperature is carefully regulated from within, and they’re more liberated from the pull of gravity. She has the potential to hold a child in this protected space, this incredible midway point, between being a dream and touching the earth. They spend 9 months in this fluid space before feeling the elements, and gravity in its fullness.
These classical reproductive differences in the archetypal male and female remind me of the differences in iron between creatures on the land and creatures in the sea. Perhaps this expression of the archetypal female, makes her less earth bound, less iron dominant, and more buoyant and fluid in nature. The bodily change in iron between males and females is catalysed in puberty, right at this point when reproductive development is in its great transformation. Perhaps this is also a defining moment in our relationship with iron and the earth.
Iron and Copper
In Part 1 we talked about other archetypes. How stereotypically, men are associated with Mars the Roman god of war and the planet. Mars is symbolic of the masculine, yang, action, conflict, will and drive, as well as the mineral Iron and the gall bladder. And stereotypically, women are associated with Venus, the Roman goddess, symbolic of the feminine, yin, receptivity, fertility and love, as well as the mineral Copper and the kidneys.
Iron and Copper share an interesting relationship as minerals in nature, and also in our body. Their physical characteristics and interactions have been studied extensively, and their polarity in this symbolic sense is interesting when we think of iron deficiency more commonly affecting menstruating people.
Iron and Copper are both molecules that have two electrons in their outer ring (2+) which means they compete for bonds and transport in the body. This is why we recommend taking your iron supplement away from other 2+ minerals like zinc and copper, to give your iron the best chance to be absorbed.
When one is elevated in the body, the other is low, and vice-versa. In my clinic it's not uncommon to see when someone’s iron levels are low, their copper levels are elevated, and the other way round. Interestingly, children naturally have much higher levels of copper in childhood, as do pregnant people (perhaps channelling that archetypal language of Venus).
In your blood oxygen is transported through your body via haemoglobin, a protein that has an iron centre. When bound with oxygen it is red like mars. In invertebrates like octopus and jellyfish, this protein is haemocyanin which has a copper centre, and when bound with oxygen appears blue.
In terms of remedies, Iron symbolises the day, and Copper the night. Iron supports embodiment, grounding and waking up fresh and clear in the morning. Copper supports breathing out, relaxation, receptivity and sleep. To sleep deeply through the night, able to let go of the day.
Finding yourself, finding the balance
Iron and Copper represent polar processes, and they mirror the reproductive polarities of the archetypal male and female; earth and sea, gravity and weightlessness, breathing in and breathing out, waking and sleeping, activity and receptivity. They offer us a deeper perspective to look at our own health. Where do you sit in this spectrum, with iron and copper, with your sleep, with your energy during the day?
Learning about these symbols and archetypes, and the nature of things lends us more food for thought as to why it is more common for menstruating people to be lower in iron, than people without a cycle, beyond it simply being a downside of having a period. Or even, a fault of nature.
Copper and Iron are essential nutrients for your body, and their balance influences how you feel, and how you feel influences the balance. Having a period doesn’t mean you’re destined for iron deficiency, or that you should live with it. Iron deficiency is a swing to the depleted, and we all need iron to feel grounded, to have energy and motivation. Perhaps though, healthy iron levels in a lower threshold are symbolic. A symbol that in this phase of your life you’re particularly connected with cycles, fertility, receptivity, perception and creative conception. That you can be both of the earth and the stars, and you’re finding your place within the two. Finding your relationship with Iron and the Earth, and with Copper and the Cosmos.
If you’d like to be in the loop when the next blog arrives,
pop your details below and I’ll make sure you hear about it
Lots of Love
Sarah x
References
Arendt A, Debus M, Karutz M, Kienle GS, Kuck A, Kummer KR, et al. Vademecum of Anthroposophic Medicines. 3rd English ed. Merkurstab/J Anthroposoph Med. 2017;70(2 Suppl):1436
Arredondo, M., Martinez, R., Nunez, M., Ruz, M., & Olivares, M. (2006). Inhibition of iron and copper uptake by iron, copper and zinc. Biological Research, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.4067/s0716-97602006000100011
Borel, M., Smith, S., Derr, J., & Beard, J. (1991). Day-to-day variation in iron-status indices in healthy men and women. The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, 54(4), 729-735. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/54.4.729
Frassinelli-Gunderson, E., Margen, S., & Brown, J. (1985). Iron stores in users of oral contraceptive agents. The American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, 41(4), 703-712. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/41.4.703
Gambling, L., Andersen, H., & McArdle, H. (2008). Iron and copper, and their interactions during development. Biochemical Society Transactions, 36(6), 1258-1261. https://doi.org/10.1042/bst0361258
Kranich, E. (1984). Planetary influences upon plants. Steiner Books.
Rushton, D. (2001). Why should women have lower reference limits for haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations than men?. BMJ, 322(7298), 1355-1357. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.322.7298.1355
Skalny, A., Mazaletskaya, A., Ajsuvakova, O., Bjørklund, G., Skalnaya, M., & Chao, J. et al. (2020). Serum zinc, copper, zinc-to-copper ratio, and other essential elements and minerals in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Journal Of Trace Elements In Medicine And Biology, 58, 126445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2019.126445
Trickey, R. (2011). Women, hormones & the menstrual cycle. Ruth Trickey/Trickey Enterprises (Victoria).
van Dam, J. The role of external applications in modern medicine. (2007). https://doi.org/10.14271/dms-19050-en
Waalen, J., Felitti, V., & Beutler, E. (2002). Haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations in men and women: cross sectional study. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 325(7356), 137. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7356.137
Deepening our Roots and Replenishing Iron - Part 2
In Part 1 of this little series on Iron, we explored how when you are prone to iron deficiency it’s really common to also be anxious, highly sensitive, shy, have an aversion to conflict and find speaking up difficult. In Part 2 we’ll explore what helps us overcome our tendency to iron deficiency, what happens when we have too much iron, why I will interpret your test results differently to a GP, rich food sources of iron, which supplemental forms of iron I recommend and how to increase your absorption of iron…
A holistic approach to Iron deficiency
In Part 1 of this little series on Iron, we explored how when you are prone to iron deficiency it’s really common to also be anxious, highly sensitive, shy, have an aversion to conflict, find speaking up difficult, have experienced high stress or shocks in your life. We now understand that the nature of iron tells us alot about why this is, and gives us a hint towards how we can support ourselves holistically when we tend towards iron deficiency (if you haven’t read Part 1, I highly recommend heading over here first to get the most from reading on).
In our body, Iron has alot to do with how grounded, warm, confident and embodied we feel. Today let’s head into the realm of remedies, from this holistic understanding or Iron to tailor our care and effect the most change in all parts of our lives.
Let’s explore
what supports us to overcome our tendency to iron deficiency
What else are we thinking of when it comes to low iron
what happens when we have too much iron
why I will interpret your test results differently to a GP
rich food sources of iron
which supplemental forms of iron I recommend
how to increase your absorption of iron
Overcoming your tendency to iron deficiency
You are probably reading this because despite all your efforts to increase your iron levels, low iron persists. You’re doing all the right things (iron rich foods, iron supplements, gut support for absorption) and may have had an initial increase, to find six months later your levels are low again.
Alongside addressing iron deficiency, we need to also address your tendency to iron deficiency with practices that emulate the amazing qualities of Iron. In a way, this shapes a home in you for Iron. Grounding, warming and directive practices are the language of Iron, and bring us into our body and individuality.
Grounding Practices
Feeling at home in your body
Massage and Body work
Movement and exercise, especially if your work life is body sedentary and head busy (thinking, writing, typing, talking). Dance, yoga, running, swimming, somatic practices like Non-linear movement that invite you into your body. Whichever most speaks to you is the best one for you.
Regular time outdoors in nature, off screens, moving your body.
Try a Shakti mat
Weave the Nervous system restorative herbs into your life with herbal teas. Herbs that help release tension and invite us into a greater presence. Chamomile, Lavender, Passionflower, Withania, Reishi, Holy Basil are all beautiful in this area. My free webinar on the adaptogen herbs is over here if you’d like to learn more.
Creative practices like clay, painting, weaving and bees wax molding.
Therapeutic work like Psychotherapy, Sandplay therapy, Art therapy. A process that allows you to face inner challenges with support and move through them is ultimately grounding and restorative, and invites you deeper into your body.
Warmth Practices
Inviting you into your body
Warm baths with epsom salts
Foot baths and foot massage
Incorporating warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, cumin, clove, star anise into our meals, warming up your digestive fire.
Warm clothes, Unless it’s a full Summer heat wave, give yourself an extra layer of clothing to warm and enfold your body. Wear a singlet under your clothes, have socks on indoors and avoid having your lower back/kidney area exposed. In Summer this could be an extra layer of breathable cotton, or in winter a layer of merino thermals.
Directive Practices
Your inner Mars
Speech and the spoken word. Join drama classes, singing lessons, poetry reading, toast masters. Read aloud to yourself at home. Practice articulation, breathing, projection of your voice. Do vocal warm ups each morning. Put your voice in the space and notice how you feel. As a daily practice, speech makes an incredible difference to feeling ‘in’ your self, which grows iron rich embodied courage and bravado over time.
Join a debating team or group, or even a book club! Practice giving your perspective on things in everyday conversations. It’s not about right and wrong, arguing or creating conflict for the sake of it, it’s about balancing yin listening (which you’re so, so good at) with yang speaking up (which is harder for you). Stepping into the ring and sharing your own thoughts. Every time you speak up and share a thought, you’re strengthening your Mars/iron muscles and bringing your presence to the room.
Improvisation games or movement that requires in the moment creative decisions and swift action is a great way to strengthen our Mars/iron energy. There is a great practice I learnt called ‘Make a decision, and do it now”. It’s done in pairs, but also possible on your own. If you have a willing friend, go for it! You’re going to take turns doing the process for about 5 minutes each. One person is the “doer”, the other is supporting. If you are solo, you’ll be both roles at once which is easy. Face each other, and the supporter is going to say “Make a decision, and do it now”. You (the doer), make an instant decision and enact it. Maybe you jump on the spot, run around, who knows. It’s your choice. Whatever you decide, do instantly. When the supporter senses you’re done with that decision, they say ‘Thankyou. Make a decision, and do it now.”. Do this for 5 minutes, and then swap roles. This process is designed to explore what decision and action are like for you in life, and strengthen your will and direction. Iron has alot to do with our will and action. Sit and reflect on the process afterwards and what came up for you. Was it easy, hard, how did you feel, what did you notice, what did it tell you about how you are or feel in life?
Physical work, gardening, chopping wood, building, weeding, shifting soil, banging, pushing, stomping, shovelling. Feet on the earth, hands in the dirt.
What else are we thinking of when it comes to low iron
The two most common findings of iron deficiency I see is low circulating iron levels in your blood (low serum iron) and/or low iron stores (low ferritin).
There are a number of things we always investigate if you have iron deficiency. We’re always looking for the root cause, and also the impact low iron may have had over time.
Your gut health, digestion and diet. Digestive conditions and dysbiosis affect how we absorb nutrients, and can go hand in hand with inflammation and even bleeding in the gut. Checking your digestion, microbiome and diet is essential to find clues for the root cause.
Signs of inflammation, infections and acute illness. Reducing iron in the blood is a wonderful process our body enacts when pathogens are present and we’re immune compromised. Your body tucks iron into storage, so your ferritin increases and your serum iron levels drop, possibly to increase the antibacterial activity of copper in the blood.
Assessing the health of your thyroid. Iron is essential in making thyroid hormones, and symptoms of thyroid disease or imbalance are very similar to those of iron deficiency.
Checking for other nutrient deficiencies. Often, if we are low in iron we’re also low in other nutrients, especially B12, Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Selenium, and Protein. You may be missing out on them in your diet, or iron is needed for the processes of these nutrients.
Your menstrual cycle. Low iron very often makes periods heavier, which feels a little counter intuitive! It’s possible that low iron affects the lining of your uterus during your cycle, which results in a heavier bleed with more iron loss, and a spiral is created. By supporting the health of your cycle with womb tonics and other herbal support we can support iron replenishment.
Your emotional wellbeing and stress levels. Chronic stress, depression or anxiety is depletive, and can impact many aspects that contribute to iron deficiency. As we’ve been exploring, low iron exacerbates these symptoms. Support to find your centre and address anything sitting in your heart is an essential part of your care in replenishing iron.
If we find no clues in these areas we check heavy metals, as they can take the place of iron and leave you depleted.
What happens when we have too much iron
Unlike other nutrients there is no excretion pathway for iron in the body (very interesting) and iron overload happens when iron accumulates in organs and joints. It can be caused by genetic conditions like hereditary haemochromatosis, liver disease or excessive iron intake through supplements, or from multiple blood transfusions.
Iron overload and iron deficiency share a symptom, fatigue and weakness. Isn’t that interesting? It’s also if you choose an iron infusion you may still feel tired after it. Excess iron feels like you’ve got a weighted suit on, gravity is pulling you down and you don’t have the energy to stand upright. It is hard to feel buoyant with the extra pull of iron. Iron deficiency fatigue feels a little different; spacey, vague, exhausted and forgetful.
When we think of the tendency to iron overload, we’re thinking of swinging to the other polarity of iron deficiency. You might find you’re quick to anger or easily frustrated, feel uptight and impatient, prefer practicals over anything too cosmic. It can be hard to read the room or intuit someone’s feelings. You might upset people without realising how it happened. You might also experience flushed cheeks, high blood pressure, joint pain or general body stiffness.
In health we are always seeking a balance in polarities. This is where Vitalism lends us a deep way to interact with our health, when we’re listening to this tendency of iron overload we’re asking “how can we help lighten the weight of this iron and let this person feel buoyant and in tune?”. The answer is individual to each of us, which is why no two people’s treatment plans will be the same.
Why I interpret your test results differently to your GP
It’s really common for people to see me feeling so tired and at a loss. They’ve had blood tests and have been told everything looks normal. It isn’t uncommon for iron deficiency to go under the radar, and it is not an error. It is more often about interpretation.
GP’s and Doctors do incredible work. We have different roles in the community (which is why we work well in partnership). As a Naturopath I am going to interpret the results of your blood test differently than your GP, and this is because we are interpreting reference ranges differently.
I am looking at your iron results for levels to do with your optimal wellbeing. The references ranges give us a measure for disease (not for wellbeing). If your results fall outside the reference ranges it is telling us there is possibly a disease process happening, though you will most likely have been experiencing symptoms way before you got to that point. I am interested in what your blood tests tell me about how you’re feeling, inside and outside the reference ranges.
The reference range for ferritin, your iron stores, is (depending on the pathology lab) between 15 - 200ug/L. If you have a ferritin level of 16ug/L, this isn’t flagged on your test result and may be overlooked or dismissed. We know though that we can start to feel symptoms from <50 ug/L, and for people without a period it can be higher. Optimally we want people with a period to have at least 50ug/L ferritin to feel optimally well, and above 50ug/L if you’re getting ready to have a baby.
Ideal Iron Rich Foods
As you may have experienced, increasing iron rich foods in your diet isn’t the sole solution for iron deficiency but it’s definitely essential!
Did you know dried herbs and spices pack the largest amount of iron per 100g? Oregano, Thyme, Paprika, Cumin… though, it is difficult to eat 100g of dried herbs a day! It’s a really good reminder to lift our gaze from only increasing red meat or bringing in one or two iron rich foods, to focus instead on increasing a variety of iron rich foods in your diet. Herbs, spices, seaweed… I’ve made a printable Iron Rich Food list for you, with simple meal ideas and recipes. You can download it below.
Which Iron supplement to choose?
The most common form of iron prescribed by medical practitioners and dispensed by pharmacies is Ferrous sulfate, This form of iron isn’t ideal. It commonly causes digestive symptoms and has a low tolerability in therapeutic doses.
It is so important to support the health of your digestion while trying to increase your iron absorption so I avoid this form of iron. I recommend iron bisglycinate, iron amino acid chelate, or iron citrate as the best supplemental forms of iron to choose from. These forms are well absorbed by your gut and are very well tolerated digestively.
One theory for this is that the chelate (the carrier of the iron) carries it more effectively through the gut before releasing it in the duodenum (the site of iron absorption in the gut), rather than releasing earlier throughout the digestive tract.
The best dose for you always relates to your iron levels so always seek Naturopathic or nutritional support for the ideal dose for you. It is important to get this one right, and it’s important to only take iron supplements if you know your iron levels are low. Because we know it lacks an excretion pathway, we don’t want to overload you.
Tips to increase your iron absorption
There are many practical ways to increase how much iron you absorb from the food in your diet and from supplements.
Support your gut health. If you have digestive symptoms think of this as a core aspect in supporting your iron levels. We want to reduce inflammation, remove possible food triggers, support your microbiome, regulate peristalsis and the movement of your bowels. Increase hydration, include digestive herbal teas, anti-inflammatory foods and omega 3 fats is a great place to begin.
Encourage the diversity of your microbiome with fermented foods and a wholefoods based, varied diet.
Always take iron supplements in the morning, and generally with food. A very interesting study also found absorption was increased when taken after morning exercise. Iron has an affinity with the daylight, and can make for a restless sleep if taken in the evening (we’ll look more at this in Part 3 to come).
Enjoy your iron rich foods or supplements with Vitamin C, this also increases absorption. A simple big squeeze of lemon in water will do the trick.
It is true that haem iron (animal based food sources) are more easily absorbed than non-haem iron (plant based sources). Though when iron stores are low, haem and non-haem iron are absorbed similarly to each other so there is no need to push the red meat when iron deficient. In fact, too much red meat is pro-inflammatory which in turn will affect digestion and reduce absorption. A better choice is to increase the variety of your iron rich foods overall, enjoy an array in good measure.
Iron absorption decreases over time with increased doses of iron. In a way, your body gets comfortable having a lovely amount of iron daily and relaxes absorption. I recommend a monthly or weekly rhythm, 3 and 1 or 5 and 2. Take your iron supplement for 3 weeks and take 1 week off each month. Or, take for 5 days on and take the weekend off. This will re-engage your body in absorbing iron.
Take your iron supplement at least an hour away from other mineral supplements, especially zinc and copper. Their molecules, like iron, have 2 electrons in their outer ring meaning they have an affinity for the same bonds and receptors. It’s best to keep them apart so they each get centre stage opportunities to be absorbed.
The following foods reduce the absorption of iron. Try and avoid or keep these foods to a minimum near supplements or an iron rich meal. Soy, dairy, coffee, tea and high tannin drinks, phytates present in unsoaked legumes and nuts.
Always take iron supplements at lease 2 hours away from pharmaceutical medications, as they can interact negatively will each other.
Support your gastric juices. Low stomach acid reduces the absorption of iron. Enjoy lemon juice or a dash of apple cider vinegar in water before meals to support your stomach acid.
Next in this little series on Iron, we’ll explore the very beautiful Iron + Copper polarity and it’s meaning for feminine and masculine polarities. So, so interesting!
References
Boehm, M. (2021). The Non-Linear Movement Method® - The Non-Linear Movement Method®. The Non-Linear Movement Method®. Retrieved 21 May 2021, from https://www.thenonlinearmovementmethod.com/the-non-linear-movement-method/.
Braun, L., & Cohen, M. (2020). Herbs & natural supplements. Elsevier.
Gulec, S., Anderson, G., & Collins, J. (2014). Mechanistic and regulatory aspects of intestinal iron absorption. American Journal Of Physiology-Gastrointestinal And Liver Physiology, 307(4), G397-G409. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpgi.00348.2013
Hechtman, L. (2019). Clinical naturopathic medicine. Elsevier.
Kloepfer, K., Schmid, P., Wuillemin, W., & Rüfer, A. (2015). Reference values for oral iron absorption of bivalent iron in healthy volunteers. Swiss Medical Weekly. https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2015.14063
Leggett, B., Brown, N., Bryant, S., Duplock, L., Powell, L., & Halliday, J. (1990). Factors affecting the concentrations of ferritin in serum in a healthy Australian population. Clinical Chemistry, 36(7), 1350-1355. https://doi.org/10.1093/clinchem/36.7.1350
van Dam, J. The role of external applications in modern medicine. (2007). https://doi.org/10.14271/dms-19050-en
Mccormick, R., Moretti, D., McKay, A., Laarakkers, C., Vanswelm, R., & Trinder, D. et al. (2021). The Impact of Morning versus Afternoon Exercise on Iron Absorption in Athletes. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
Media, A. (2021). Gastroenterological Society of Australia. Gesa.org.au. Retrieved 21 May 2021, from http://www.gesa.org.au/index.cfm//education/clinical-information/.
RCPA - Ferritin. Rcpa.edu.au. (2021). Retrieved 21 May 2021, from https://www.rcpa.edu.au/Manuals/RCPA-Manual/Pathology-Tests/F/Ferritin.
Trickey, R. (2011). Women, hormones & the menstrual cycle. Ruth Trickey/Trickey Enterprises (Victoria).
When low iron uproots us - Part 1
Sometimes there is a strong weekly theme in my clinic. Something that unites the people coming to see me in a common symptom, challenge or pondering. This week it’s all been about iron; iron rich food sources and the ‘whys’ of deficiency….
A holistic approach to Iron deficiency
Sometimes there is a strong weekly theme in my clinic. Something that unites the people coming to see me in a common symptom, challenge or pondering. This week it’s all been about iron; iron rich food sources and the ‘whys’ of deficiency. A clear majority of the women that come to see me are iron deficient, and I’m also seeing more children with iron deficiency.
Many people come feeling exasperated, maybe you can relate? Having consistently low iron stores despite a diligent effort to increase iron in your diet, taking supplements, or organising infusions. You may have an initial increase in ferritin levels (your iron stores), though it often plateaus or within a few months is low again.
We need to think more deeply about the qualities of iron to understand why you might tend towards iron deficiency and anaemia. My work as a Naturopath is to think holistically and ask the questions
are you absorbing the iron
how is your digestion
is there anything in your diet reducing your absorption
is there inflammation at the heart of this low iron (low iron is a secondary marker for inflammation)
Then, most importantly, my questions are ‘what does iron deficiency feel like to you’ and ‘how does this relate to your life?’. This gives us a much deeper insight into your remedies.
Supplementation, supporting absorption, and increasing iron in the diet is important, but doesn’t always resolve iron deficiency. It is often a tendency that needs support. It becomes an opportunity to listen in a deeper way to the language of your body.
Why is it that people with iron deficiency are also often:
anxious
highly sensitive
shy
have an aversion to conflict
find speaking up for themselves difficult
are very empathic
are experiencing high stress, or have experienced shocks
tend to have sensitive hearts (palpitations, arrhythmia)
or sensitive tummies (digestive upset, multiple food sensitivities)
Can you relate to these characteristics? Perhaps this is you to a tee. Why do we experience cold hands and feet, shortness of breath, tiredness and headaches when we’re low in iron?
To answer these questions we need to study life (one of my favourite things to do, personally!). Rudolf Steiner said “To truly know the world, look deeply within your own being; to truly know yourself, take real interest in the world.". Iron is an incredible element, and to understand iron deficiency let’s get to know this beautiful element’s nature.
The nature of iron
Have you ever held a ball of iron in your hand? I’m having memories of an excursion to a museum where we were allowed to hold an old, cast iron cannon ball. My hand was not expecting the weight of this small sphere. Iron is dense, and impressively heavy.
The very core of the Earth is made mostly of iron, and it is the forth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. The alpha form of iron is naturally magnetic. Iron has strong attractive forces between it’s atoms that can only be broken by very high temperatures, and it’s boiling point is 2862 degrees celsius! As a substance it is stoic in its form for a long time before it’s affected by heat. It is though, easily affected by oxygen and moisture and rusts easily, as we know, when left out to the elements.
Picture the Earth for a moment in your minds eye; its gravitational pull, its orbit in the solar system. Think about its heavy iron core. We share this iron with the Earth in our blood. The elemental iron in our body lives mostly as haemoglobin, carrying oxygen to the tissues and cells of our body, and returning with carbon dioxide to be breathed out or transformed.
Iron is essential to us as humans, and also to plants. Our feet and roots are firmly planted on the Earth, though let’s bring to mind the animals of the sea. Fish, jellyfish, seahorse, the beautiful animals of the deep are suspended, buoyant in the water and released from gravity. The blood volume of fish is between 1.5 - 3% of their body weight, whereas in us creatures of the Earth, pulled by gravity, it is around 7% of our body weight. Our blood has higher concentrations of iron than that of our sea friends, which is also why we find a richer source of iron in land animals than we do in fish and seafood. Iron has an intimate connection with our Earthliness and our uprightness.
Iron as an Earth element
In a sense as humans each day we are striving against the pull of gravity. Trying to establish ourselves as independent between the Earth and the Sky. It is incredible to watch a child in their first year of life as they strive to keep their eyes open, to lift their hands, to hold their head upright, to roll, to crawl, and finally to stand independently on their feet despite the pull of the Earth. It is an incredible achievement, to stand upright. And with this we also find our voice, we find our sense of individuality.
When we look at the processes between water animals and earth bound animals, we see that iron has a relationship with how we stand on the earth, how grounded we feel, and how ‘in’ our body we are. How comfortably we stand up as an individual.
When iron is low
When we are iron deficient we feel tired, vague, and foggy minded. It is hard to keep a clear string of thoughts together, and easy to loose focus and concentration. It is hard to carry ourselves through the day, our energy is hardly there. We can be pale, lightheaded, dizzy. Gravity is having it’s way over us, and our sense of uprightness is changing. We are letting go of our Earthiness, beginning to float, while at the same time feeling heavy and foggy.
We could say, we aren’t really ‘in’ ourselves. We aren’t grounded. We are becoming more like a fish; buoyant, floating, without memory. We’re becoming more feeling, less judgemental, less stoic, more homogenous.
Blood is the carrier of our warmth, and warmth inherently invites us into our bodies. When you’re low in iron, your hands and feet tend to be cold, it is not uncommon to experience other circulation challenges like Raynaud’s syndrome, or painful chilblains. The less iron available to our periphery, the less circulation, the less warmth, but also the less we feel safe and present.
Shocks and fright are often followed by chills. If you have ever experience high anxiety, a panic attack or large shock of some kind you will have experienced the cold feeling in your body, the pull of heat toward your heart and away from your extremities. We are frightened out of our skin, and all warmth leaves us. It takes time then to relax and come back to yourself. Shock can be often followed by memory loss and confusion. We’re not really all there.
Long term stress can also affect us in a similar way over time. The remedy is warmth, it’s an invitation back home; a warm blanket, a bath, a cup of tea, a hug from a friend, the warmth of kindness and care. We know iron’s correlation with the blood and with warmth, and it is no wonder that the less iron in our blood, the more anxiety builds in us. We can’t feel ourselves. It makes our heart race, our thoughts are unguarded and worries blooms. We long to feel grounded, full and warm again.
Planetary influences
Iron is the element associated with the red planet, Mars. Mars symbolises action, conflict, courage, passion, will and drive. It is also associated with war, being named after the Greek God of war. Weapons and tools through the earliest of human history were made with iron.
The organ iron and Mars is associated with then is the gall bladder. The centre of the important catabolic processes of the body, the gall bladder rules the acids that break everything down in order to be built as new life. The seat of action and energy.
Tuning into Mars, the gall bladder and iron I am reminded of the balance between breaking down and building up, the essential nature of death for life. It reminds me about the importance of my voice, of my part in life, of having a say and standing up for myself. We can understand then why there is a commonality when iron deficient to feel shy, to dislike conflict or debate, to find it hard to speak us for yourself.
Or to feel indecisive, and find it hard to make decisions and action them. To feel alone in your own company, easily feeling pulled along by the crowd or opinions around you.
Iron as a grounding mineral that helps us feel upright and individual, gives us a voice. To discriminate for ourselves what we want, and speak about it. Even simply in the sense of feeling clear about our life, beyond the wishes of others.
The nature of iron, these incredible characteristics and affinities, give us a real feeling for the remedies that would support you feeling deeply present in yourself, grounded, confident.
Can you start to feel what might support you? What may give iron a more resonant home in your body, for it to soak into your blood and carry life, energy and your beautiful spirit into everything you do? So you feel connected, with yourself and the core you share with the Earth.
Next we’re diving into remedies
what is it that supports us to overcome our tendency to iron deficiency
What else are we thinking of when it comes to low iron
what happens when we have too much iron
why I will interpret your test results differently to a GP
rich food sources of iron
which supplemental forms of iron I recommend
how to increase your absorption of iron
Join me for Part 2!
Deepening our Roots and Replenishing Iron
Lots of Love, and fiery mars strength
Sarah x
