I am lack-of-iron woman
Jul. 6th, 2009 09:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamer_easyIn between catastrophising about my obviously imminent demise, I've been reading up on the vitamins and minerals I'm lacking, and I have a rather embarrassing suspicion that in fact my diet is deficient in them. It's been a long time since I thought about my nutrition in any other way than "Is this low GI and low fat?", and I'd just assumed that guzzling supplements would cover any gaps.
I knew a bit about B12, which is the bugbear of vegetarians. It's absorbed in the same bit of the small intestine that's supposed to absorb bile salts (aka bile acids), the terminal ileum. I don't absorb these properly, so it's not unreasonable to assume I'd also be having trouble absorbing B12. Might need shots or something to get around this.
I've been Googling up a crash course on iron and vitamin D - neither of which are absorbed in the terminal ileum. The Recommended Daily Intake for iron for a woman of my age is 18 mg. I may need more because of my menorrhagia. If I absorb every bit of the iron in my supplements, I'm still only getting 15 mg. Plus - and if I ever knew this, I'd forgotten it - the type of iron found in animal flesh, haeme iron, is more readily absorbed by the body than the type of iron found in vegetables (eggs, too, and my supplements). Luckily I'm actually pescan, rather than properly vegetarian, so I can get more iron by eating more fish and prawns. Should try some clams and oysters, too. Plus taking vitamin C at the same time improves absorption. I'm investigating which are the best sources of vege iron.
As for vitamin D, the doc's got me on 3000 IU a day - if that builds up my reserves, then we know it's not a malabsorption problem. Plus I'm trying to get 10 minutes of sunlight a day, to give my body a chance to make its own supply.
Think I'd better go see the dietician again, too. I've started keeping a food diary again for this purpose.
(Good grief, there's a lot of bs online about nutrition! The above notes come from reliable sources, like guvmint info sheets, and I've been comparing what different sources have to say and checking some of the science in pubmed. It helps me enormously to blog about it - helps me remember and plan.)
ETA: My path results say that metformin, one of the drugs I take for my diabetes, can be involved in B12 deficiency. Verrry interesting. Also, Questran, which I take for the bile acid malabsorption, can cause vitamin D deficiency. Verrrrrry interesting.
I knew a bit about B12, which is the bugbear of vegetarians. It's absorbed in the same bit of the small intestine that's supposed to absorb bile salts (aka bile acids), the terminal ileum. I don't absorb these properly, so it's not unreasonable to assume I'd also be having trouble absorbing B12. Might need shots or something to get around this.
I've been Googling up a crash course on iron and vitamin D - neither of which are absorbed in the terminal ileum. The Recommended Daily Intake for iron for a woman of my age is 18 mg. I may need more because of my menorrhagia. If I absorb every bit of the iron in my supplements, I'm still only getting 15 mg. Plus - and if I ever knew this, I'd forgotten it - the type of iron found in animal flesh, haeme iron, is more readily absorbed by the body than the type of iron found in vegetables (eggs, too, and my supplements). Luckily I'm actually pescan, rather than properly vegetarian, so I can get more iron by eating more fish and prawns. Should try some clams and oysters, too. Plus taking vitamin C at the same time improves absorption. I'm investigating which are the best sources of vege iron.
As for vitamin D, the doc's got me on 3000 IU a day - if that builds up my reserves, then we know it's not a malabsorption problem. Plus I'm trying to get 10 minutes of sunlight a day, to give my body a chance to make its own supply.
Think I'd better go see the dietician again, too. I've started keeping a food diary again for this purpose.
(Good grief, there's a lot of bs online about nutrition! The above notes come from reliable sources, like guvmint info sheets, and I've been comparing what different sources have to say and checking some of the science in pubmed. It helps me enormously to blog about it - helps me remember and plan.)
ETA: My path results say that metformin, one of the drugs I take for my diabetes, can be involved in B12 deficiency. Verrry interesting. Also, Questran, which I take for the bile acid malabsorption, can cause vitamin D deficiency. Verrrrrry interesting.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-06 01:11 am (UTC)Oh, sorry, 'Pescan', misread that bit.
Sorry to hear about all the health issues. Know how you feel. Bring on the Groupmind Download, I say...
no subject
Date: 2009-07-06 01:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-06 10:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-06 01:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-06 01:51 am (UTC)Anecdotally, at least, broccoli is good for that (lots of it in the florets). The stems, with fibrous outer layer removed and inner bit cooked, are also good calcium sources.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-06 11:14 am (UTC)Also other dark green leafy vegetables - kale, spinach and some cabbages.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-06 04:02 pm (UTC)*nods* Quite possibly. I know someone else in that situation, innertubes-wise, who does get those.