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Registered Dietitian Elizabeth Somer explains if a woman needs to be concerned that she is iron deficient.
Registered Dietitian Elizabeth Somer:
Iron deficiency is a huge concern for women. If you are, if you menstruate heavily, if you are on the IUD, if you consume a diet of less than 2000 calories a day, if you eat, mostly the iron comes from vegetable products like beans, whole grains, vegetables, rather than meat, or you exercise vigorously, or you have had a baby in the last two years; any of those things will put you at particularly high risk for iron deficiency.
Symptoms are you are tired all the time, you can’t think straight, you don’t sleep as well, you are more susceptible to colds and infections, you don’t perform as well at school or at work and huge, huge problem for women–pre-menopausal women, teenage girls--and the easiest thing to do here is go in for a routine blood test and have what’s called the serum ferritin test done and then don’t settle for a response of, “You’re fine, honey.” Find out what the value is because if your value is less than 20 micrograms per liter you are iron deficient and you need to get on supplements.
About Elizabeth Somer:
Elizabeth Somer, M.A., is a registered dietitian who has carved a unique professional niche as one of the few, if not only, dietitians who is well-versed in nutrition research. For 25 years, she has kept abreast of the current research, packaging that information into easy-to-read books, magazine articles, lectures, continuing education seminars, and practical news for the media.
Visit Elizabeth Somer at her website