Thu, Oct-25-01, 09:59
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Forum Founder
Posts: 37,417
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Plan: LC, GF
Stats: 241/190/140
BF:
Progress: 50%
Location: Eastern ON, Canada
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here I am, the toad in the puddle to spoil everything
First, easy bruising has nothing to do with iron ... easy-bruising happens because the capillaries and small blood-vessel walls are thin and fragile, and break open with the slightest impact. Blood vessel walls become thin and fragile when there is insufficient collagen-protein ... and lack of both Vitamins C and E are the culprits here, since both are required for collagen production. Do your gums bleed when you floss your teeth?? That's another sure sign.
Second, iron is a double-edged sword, yes indeed ... and heme-bound ferritin is a concern for persons with heart & blood vessel disease. But, iron-deficiency anemia in pre-menopausal women is more common that we thiink. Here's a post I wrote to someone a few weeks ago on this subject:
Quote:
originally posted by doreen T
... anemia is still more common in young women than we think. Part of it stems from years and years of lowFAT eating, where we were afraid to eat red meats. It takes a while for the body's stores to be built back up.
Recent research has shown that excess iron can accumulate in the tissues and acts as an oxidant. It can also interfere with organ function, such as heart, kidney, liver. The keyword is accumulate ... this is a concern for older men and a post-menopausal women. Younger women who are menstruating do NOT have this problem as the monthly losses serve to balance things. In fact, if iron stores are not replenished, low-grade anemia can result. And it happens a lot. We get tired feeling, sluggish, no energy ... Iron is used to make hemoglobin .. the molecule of the blood cell that carries oxygen to our cells. Not enough iron = not quite enough oxygen, and we get tired easily. Hemoglobin gets used up rapidly in hard-training athletes, particularly long-distance endurance type.
Vitamin C is needed to improve the absorption of dietary iron. The minimum RDA is 60 mg, which is a crock. Many nutritionists are urging that be raised to 100mg per day ... and note that the RDA is just the minimum required to prevent deficiency symptoms. For optimum health, you may need more. If your gums bleed when you floss your teeth, chances are you may need more vitamin C. Since many LowCarbers aren't eating a lot of vegetables and fruits which supply C, it's necessary to supplement. Vitamin C is NOT stored, meaning you must replace it daily. So check that daily multivite ... you might want to consider taking a little extra C ..  .. I personally take 200mg twice a day.
As for iron, the RDA is 12 - 15 mg. According to our Foods counter tool, 100 g (3.5 oz) cooked lean roast beef provides only 1.85 mg of iron.
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Don't "guess". If you and your doctor are concerned about this, it would be wise to have a serum ferritin level taken. And a hemoglobin level too.
Doreen
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