Answers and Tips for a Healthy Iron Constitution

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Headache, shortness of breath, loss of energy … Are you feeling tired for no reason? It may be an iron deficiency. Let’s focus on the most common cause of anaemia in the world and the solutions to prevent it.

Iron deficiency is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world.

First of all, what’s anaemia?

Anaemia is a decrease of the haemoglobin level in the blood.

Basically we talk about “anaemia” when the haemoglobin level in the blood is lower than:

• 130 grams per litre (g / l) for men
• 120 grams per litre (g / l) for non-pregnant women
• 115 grams per litre (g / l)  pregnant women.
• 120 grams per litre (g / l) for elderly, woman or man, over 70 years of age.

We can find haemoglobins inside the red blood cells. They play a key role in the transport of oxygen throughout the body.

Therefore, anaemia is one of the main causes of fatigue.

According to WHO, anaemia affects 1.62 billion people, which corresponds to 24.8% of the global population. The highest prevalence is in preschool-age children (47.4%).

However, the population group with the greatest number of individuals affected is non-pregnant women (468.4 million, 95%).

The most common form of anaemia?

The most common form of anaemia is called microcytic anaemia.. It is due to a deficiency of folates (vitamin B9) and / or vitamin B12.

It is a very common pathology for young sexually active women (heavy bleeding during menstruation, fibroma, IUD …). For men, it often has a digestive origin.

How to build a healthy iron constitution?

Our HHT Ireland team has put together a little food guide for good iron health, just for you!

Our diet is our main source of iron. To limit any deficiency, it is essential to adopt a balanced and adapted diet. Here are some food-allies to fill up on iron!

• Make vegetables your best friends: lentils, red and white beans…
• Seeds – especially soya, flax and sunflower.
• Dried fruits: figs and apricots are sources of iron but also of sugar, be careful not to abuse them.
• Red meat (or liver) to eat at least once a week.
• Seafood is also rich in iron and so tasty too!
• Dark chocolate: the higher the percentage of cocoa, the better!

Bear in mind that the body uses 1 to 2 mg of iron each day to function. But we are only able to absorb 10% of the amount of iron coming from the food we eat. Therefore, we must absorb between 10 to 20 mg of iron per day for an adult to give our body what it needs.

Sources: HSE Ireland ; Figaro Santé ; Ma santé ; Top Santé ; WHO