10 facts you need to know about heme iron

Globally, anaemia affects 1.62 billion people (95% CI: 1.50–1.74 billion),which corresponds to 24.8% of the population (95% CI: 22.9–26.7%). The highest prevalence is in preschool-age children (47.4%, 95% CI: 45.7–49.1),and the lowest prevalence is in men (12.7%, 95% CI: 8.6–16.9%). However, the population group with the greatest number of individuals affected is non-pregnant women (468.4 million, 95% CI: 446.2–490.6). (WHO).

Iron is an important part of the red blood cells that carry oxygen to all the cells of the body. If we don´t have enough we easily run short of breath, get tired and have problems concentrating. Our bodies contain 4-5 grammes of iron. It may be difficult to get enough of this important nutrient unless meat courses are part of the diet. Fruit, cereals and vegetables contain relatively little of useful iron. If you’re suffering from low iron, no amount of vitamins or any other supplement is going to change it.

Almost every third woman has low iron values. The risk is especially high if menstruation lasts longer than three days, during pregnancy and lactation. During menstruation the woman loses an average of 35-40 mg of iron, or around 10 mg per day. This is why women need more iron than men. The symptoms of iron depletion are so common that they aren´t always recognised. Except for weakness and shortage of breath it also affects appearance. The skin grows pale and hair and nail lose strength and luster.

Iron deficiency can give the following symptoms:

- Tiredness, fatigue, passivity and drowsiness - Concentration difficulties and increased need for

sleep - Impaired physical performance - Lessened learning ability

In healthy individuals the average iron absorbed is 1 mg daily for men, 1.5 - 2.5 mg daily for women and during pregnancy 2-3 mg daily corresponding to a total of 500 - 1 000 mg per month Iron requirements should compensate for demand during growth, pregnancy and physiological and pathological losses.

Many iron supplementation treatments fail because syntethic iron produces painful and uncomfortable gastro-intestinal side-effects sooner or later. Heme iron preparations have a virtually perfect tolerance and this will not change even in longer use when necessary.

There are only two kinds of iron that we can use; heme iron from meat, poultry or fish and non-heme iron from vegetables, dairy products or chemically bonded iron in regular supplements. Heme iron is taken up along the whole gastro-intestinal tract (not only the first part) and, unlike non-heme iron, absorption is not affected by other chelating components of the diet such as phytates, tannates and phosphate.

In studies the incidence of side-effects with heme iron products is at placebo level. The mechanism of uptake for heme iron does not leave free iron ions in the gut that may cause disturbancies and are potentially carcinogenous.

Iron status of the pregnant and those who plan pregnancy determines the weight of the foetus. Even to such a degree that it affects the health status of a person during the whole lifetime. A negative iron balance causes not only physical and mental fatigue, but may also lead to anemia. Iron deficiency in children may disturb the learning ability, which cannot be substituted along the way. This concerns mainly psychomotor development and cognitive performance.

The process of building up adequate iron stores takes months, much in the same way that depletion doesn´t happen overnight. This is why supplementary dosage usually is enough. If the dosage is higher than 50 mgs per day zinc absorption will be blocked. The success of any iron therapy is closely related to user friendliness. This means that tolerance and dosage-related compliance is of central importance.

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