I'm on an iron email list because I have hereditary hemochromatosis. The number of times I see vegetarians on there with anemia issues is enlightning. I'm sorry I don't buy the plant heme thing especially since iron deficiency is a known problem with being vegetarian. Regarding red meat causes cance...

Unfortunately I hate clams and liver and restrict red meat. Reason to restrict red meat? Next highest in order are Mussels, Venison, Lamb, Shrimp. If you're vegetarian, sprouted legumes, greens, seaweed, and potatoes are the best food sources, and the iron will be best absorbed if accompanied by vi...

Thanks Simon and Lucy! This morning I found this 2009 paper about iron and menopause symptoms. It will be of interest to those with the high iron genetics, since women's iron tend to go up a lot in menopause and pose risks. Gee, I'm in menopause and my ferritin is quite low, so I wonder how low it ...

Finally got my ferritin checked ... 34 ng/mL. I think my anemia markers are good, but I’m not convinced being this low is beneficial, not that I want it very high. I’ll see what my doc says, but I wonder whether I should experiment with a small supplemental dose and see if my muscle cramps go away?...

Is there research to support the idea that low iron is bad in the absence of hematological evidence of anemia? Signs and Symptoms of Iron Deficiency: Iron deficiency leads to anemia, which may be asymptomatic early on, but which can cause declining work performance, fatigue, weakness, pale skin, ar...

[ One more question: Isn't it strange for someone to have low hematocrit and low hemoglobin but slightly elevated ferritin? What could be going on there? Undermethylation? No I don't think so, I'm not a doctor. Ferritin is iron storage. Hemoglobin is the iron-containing protein found in all red blo...

Thanks, Simon. I had not heard of iron avidity before. From a bit of searching, I think I would see my transferrin saturation percentage start to approach 50% if I were heading toward iron avidity - correct? My full recent testing history is Mar 2014 | ferritin 186 | iron 111 Dec 2016 | ferritin 12...

BTW, I have found donation to be effective. Before I began donating in late 2016 (after reading Dumping Iron), my ferritin was 123. After donations in Dec 2016 and Feb 2017 it was 33. After donations in Apr 2017, Dec 2017, and Mar 2018, my Apr 2018 ferritin is only 13! Hemoglobin and hematocrit are...

Very interesting discussion here. I will have to read "Dumping Iron" now. My Keto-Mojo regularly shows me with low hematocrit (<35%) and low hemoglobin (<12 g/dL) but my iron is fairly healthy (I think?) with my most recent fasting blood panel a month ago having a total iron of 107 mcg/dL...

Very interesting. I have restless leg syndrome, and one of the therapies recommended for RLS is intravenous Fe, which would increase ferritin levels. Glad I didn't try this therapy. How ironic that my chronic semi-anemic state might actually be protective. At least get your ferritin checked before ...