Avoid irritability, just add iron

Com­mon signs of not hav­ing enough iron sources in your diet include a lack of energy, dizzi­ness, and irri­tabil­ity. Dur­ing the hol­i­day sea­son these three symp­toms occur often.

Iron is an essen­tial part of daily intake. It is found in every cell in the body. Iron is used to make oxy­gen car­ry­ing proteins.

With­out enough iron, the body suf­fers. Peo­ple around a per­son who is low in iron suf­fer too. Before get­ting irri­tated with some­one who is always tired and some­times dizzy, con­sider that their body may be low in iron.

The amount of iron a body needs depends upon both age and gen­der. Teenage boys between 14 and 18 years old need at least 11 mil­ligrams every day. Beyond the age of 18, the need drops to 8 mil­ligrams a day.

A woman’s iron need is a bit more com­pli­cated. Before the teenage years, a child’s need is 8 mil­ligrams. Between 13 and 19 a girl’s require­ment for iron jumps to 15 mil­ligrams a day and until the age of 50, this need increases to 18 mil­ligrams daily.

After 50 years old, a woman’s require­ment drops back to just 8 mil­ligrams a day. Preg­nant and breast­feed­ing women may need more as pre­scribed by their physician.

Sources of dietary iron are abun­dant. Red meat is not the only food that is high in iron. Some seafood also con­tain this min­eral. Folks who con­sume a plant-based diet need to pay atten­tion to foods con­tain­ing iron and make sure that they get enough or they may get cranky.

Whole grains includ­ing wheat, oats and brown rice are iron pump­ing foods. Egg yolks, molasses and dried fruit, such as raisins, apri­cots and prunes are packed with iron. Mix these foods together and an oat­meal raisin cookie made with iron rich molasses may be just what the doc­tor ordered. Bak­ing these cook­ies may not only lift the spirit of some­one who has recently had surgery but these iron clad treats will boost their blood level as well.

Green leafy veg­eta­bles, such as broc­coli, spinach, kale, aspara­gus, col­lards and dan­de­lion greens can increase the level in a person’s blood. Iron for­ti­fied cere­als and dried beans also increase this much needed min­eral in a person’s diet.

There are some foods that affect the absorp­tion of iron. Cit­rus foods and juices assist the absorp­tion of iron while high cal­cium foods and milk inhibit iron uptake. Take an iron sup­ple­ment two hours before or after drink­ing milk.

Ane­mia is the result of not enough iron in the body. As men­tioned pre­vi­ously, being tired and dizzy are two major symp­toms of ane­mia. Irri­tabil­ity is another sign of pos­si­ble low iron stores. Dur­ing the hol­i­day sea­son remem­ber to eat a bal­anced diet with plenty of iron rich foods to keep the sea­son sunny and bright.

Iron is a strong metal. It is vital for life. The red blood cells that carry oxy­gen and nutri­ents through­out the body depend upon iron to do their job. The Sal­va­tion Army is like iron, a strong group that sup­ports life. If you have not yet vol­un­teered to ring the bells this hol­i­day sea­son, it is not too late.

Bob­bie Ran­dall is a cer­ti­fied dia­betes edu­ca­tor, reg­is­tered, licensed dietit­ian. She super­vises a dia­betes self-management train­ing pro­gram at Dun­lap Com­mu­nity Hos­pi­tal, Orrville. Con­tact her at brandall@dunlaphospital.org or 330–684-4776.

Posted by Bobbie Randall on Dec 1 2011. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Comments can be made below.