Why My Ferritin is REALLY Low
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2024
- I've been working on my Ferritin behind the scenes for 3 years. Then, I finally found something that gave me a 19-point bump in just three months! Did I really have asymptomatic low stomach acid all along? Or is there another reason my Ferritin has been low..? Stay tuned for another citizen science video with your favorite UA-cam geek, Dr. D! ;)
Data summary (because I know the video might be hard to follow at times)
- Phase 1: Before experimentation:
- Iron intake: 92% RDA
- Top Iron sources: Dark chocolate (5%), Oysters (4%), Hummus (4%), Spinach frittata (4%), Cheerios (3%), Chickpea pasta (2%)
- June Ferritin: 22
- Phase 2: While taking Betaine HCl
- Iron intake: 87%
- Top Iron sources: Cheerios (7%), Dark chocolate (4%), Almond flour muffins (3%), Oysters (3%), Hummus (3%), Ground beef (3%)
- September Ferritin: 41
- Phase 3: More Betaine HCl
- Iron intake: 93%
- Top Iron sources: Chickpea pasta (8%), Oysters (7%), Cheeriors (4%), Party mix (so, more cheerios LOL) (4%), Eggs (3%), Ground beef (3%)
- January Ferritin: 37
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Betaine HCl supplement I like:
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Dr. Nicole DiNezza, DC, NTP
Holly Springs, NC
I wanted to share some information that might be beneficial for those dealing with SIBO. Consider incorporating Lactoferrin and Beef Liver into your routine, as they are known to boost iron levels quickly. Additionally, supplementing with Folate, a natural source of Vitamin C, Copper, and Saccharomyces boulardii could be beneficial.
For individuals with SIBO, it's advisable to avoid Betaine HCl, as suggested by Pimentel. To enhance stomach acid levels, you might want to try incorporating bitters such as Ginger, Globe Artichoke, and Gentian, while omitting Betaine HCl.
Also avoid Coffee, Tea, Eggs around the time of eating or taking supplements that contain iron.
My ferritin levels when from 7 to 80.
Can you explain why SIBO patients should not take Betaine HCl? It doesn't make sense to me.
Thank you!
I'm also taking Lactoferrin :)
My ferritin was 4 for years! That’s right! 4! It runs in my family but the daily chores became harder to do so I started digging deep! I ve seen many doctors from different practices. Finally I was diagnosed with EPi! My pancreas was not producing enough enzymes. I hope this help someone if you can’t find the culprit after all of the struggles you ve been through!
I've been strict wholefood vegan and I'm a female regular blood donor, I never took any iron supplements but considering vegan iron for extreme workout days. At the beginning of the pandemic I was cooking more and a series of tests for Covid Shot takers revealed my Ferritin was nice around 60 if I recall. Normally, my Ferritin is lower because I either sweat it out (regular high intensity workouts), menstruate, and (unwisely) occasionally limit my meals to attempt to lose weight. I've been wholefood vegan for over 10 years, and my iron and ferritin levels have been safe, not too low apart from years when I donated blood more than twice or 3 times which depletes Ferritin long term.
I also occasionally enter my food into Chronometer for a few weeks to keep tabs on my nutrition levels. For years I've set my Iron MG on Chronometer to 32 MG after consulting with a licenced Vegan Nutritionist and I make sure to get 20-30 mg of Iron daily. 10 grams of 85-80% chocolate is great to boost iron, I miss dark chocolate as it is bad for GERD reflux.
I also recommend adding organic Moringa powder to morning oatmeal with fruit. Just 3 grams of Moringa powder have 1 gram of Iron.
Of course I always eat some vitamin C from vegatables or a bite of fruit to make the Iron bio-available.
As a whole-food vegan who doesn't supplement other than in summer during intense 60+ min workouts this is where I will get my Iron from today - Total 25.3 Mg of IRON:
Wholefood vegan diet my SOURCES from today's Chronometer:
- Chickpeas a WHOOPING 7.2 mg
- Chia seeds (2-3 spoonfuls soaked overnight in the fridge) = 3.3 mg
- Quinoa 3.2 mg
- Tofu firm 3.0 mg
- Spinach organic cooked from frozen 1.5 mg
- Corn organic cooked from frozen 1.3 mg
- Moringa 1.1 mg
- Sauerkraut 1.0 mg
- Currants .0.9 mg
- Soaked sunflower seeds .0.9 mg
I must admit, meal prep (cooking freezing soaking) with a wholefood vegan diet is hella a pain in the tush, but I treat it as a self-care investment and keeps my SIBO microbiome from being cranky :D
Found out recently that my ferritin is at a 12 and I feel terrible every single day. So lightheaded, faint, weak, tired, heart symptoms and more… this video came at the perfect time. I have SIBO so my issue is that I have troubles absorbing nutrients… but I started an iron supplement and am hoping for the best here. I take vitamin C with it for absorption.
Dr. Nicole, do you think my low ferritin is due to my SIBO? Do you believe it could all lead back to that?
I’ve had SIBO for almost 4 years now and having troubles treating it. I am trying to increase iron rich foods but I already have issues with digestion, so I can only change so much.
A lot of digestion issues cause this low iron and b12. The supplements may help but I heard some have a constipation side effects
@@alessshorts thanks! so far this iron supplement hasn’t caused any issues so that’s positive. definitely going to be careful though! i’ve just been taking it once every other day to see how my stomach likes it.
I've just found out my ferritin is 12 as well. I feel dreadful I'm on iron tablets 🤞 we all start to feel better soon.
What a refreshingly honest video. So helpful as I’ve also been struggling with low ferritin. Thank you!
Ground beef. Coming from someone who couldn't raise their ferritin with anything (supplement, food, etc). Ground beef just works.
Thank you for being so generous in sharing your time and information.
My grandmother would sauté onions then coat the liver lightly in egg and flour and pan fry it. Served with a little mustard on the side. Still my favorite way to eat it.
Been struggling with low iron and IBS symptoms for the past year. Tuning in
I take blackstrap molasses and also make fresh beet juice.
But also 3 tablespoons of chia seeds gives you 16% iron, you can use your choice of milk to make it into a chia seed pudding I use a mix of eden organic soy milk which for 1/2 cup gives you 7% and I also make fresh walnut milk for the other 1/2 cup which is 6% iron. Top with strawberries and banana for 3% iron. Add 1 serving 30g sprinkled hemps seeds for 26% iron. Add sweetener of choice and you are already at 58% iron for serving of chia seed pudding. And if you want to go super crazy add tsp ground turmeric and that supposedly gives you 12% iron for a golden latte style chia pudding. So that’s 70% iron. Add in another nutrient dense meal like “iheartveggies” immunity boosting soup that’s filled with iron rich foods lentils, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, spinach, turmeric and you’ll easily hit over 100% iron.
I mix blackstrap into my coffee in the morning now and it does seem to help a ton. I learned acrylamide in blackstrap can be a challenge for some unless you have the lactic acid bacteria in the gut that can neutralize it. There is also sometimes fairly high levels of lead in blackstrap. So I also take garlic for the selenium and glutathione to aid in chelation, and try to get a swig of kefir in later in the day as a preventative. Garlic seems to selective promote lactic acid bacteria so it's a great combo.
Thank you! I was down to 15 and taking three naps a day! 8 months of a suppliment I'm up to 36. I'm hoping some animal iron will help me push in to normal range soon!
Ferritin should be around 100-120. Below 80 people can start having symptoms.
I was around 11 for years and the doctors did nothing 👍 because the lab ranges are low. Which costs a lot of people health challenges.
The non absorption of the pro ferrin heme iron supplements wasn't addressed here though - that is bizarre
Yes. One needs B Vitamins and D for this. I get b vitamin injection and take d3 (which I do absorb bur also lose at a strong rate)
I am also taking a heme iron supplement and eat meat.
Chocolate is said to suppress absorption, and something called Hepcidin is supposed to come into play when Iron is taken every day, to protect from Iron Overload. So supplementing every 24 hours might be better
A word of caution, after developing chronic methane SIBO after antibiotics daily food poisoning in Asia in 2017, I recently developed GERD, and I highly suspect the constant bloat stomach distention pressure since 2017 damaged my LES Splinter and esophagus, so having had a new Gastroscopy it confirmed I have GERD which also causes Gastritis erosions (pre-ulcers) and I found out that many GI doctors claim HCL Betaine is not recommended for GERD which also damages stomach lining with erosions.
I'm adding this since I have a gut feeling 7 years of SIBO bloat distention caused my LES Splinter to become damaged, and some articles point to the possibility that SIBO long term can cause GERD.
Of course the other GI doctors claim Betaine HCL is not harmful but helps GERD symptoms. (But not with gastritis and pre-ulcers I believe)
I have had Sibo for over 22 years can't even get rid of that . Never had my Ferritin checked.
Do it. And do your own resesrch, the lab range is way too low
H Pylori can be a cause. A GI-MAP test can confirm that nasty bacteria or other gut issues as well. Taking Vitron C in the mornings on an empty stomach about an hour before eating every other day. Also take 2-4mg of copper bisglycinate WITH meals about 4 hours later and this combo can definitely bring up your ferritin levels considering you find the root cause of the deficiency in the first place and fix that. Shoot for a min 100ng/mL ferritin if you want to feel your best.
The sweetest fruits like papaya, mango, ananas, exotic fruits and mulases sugar, get up the ferritin level quickly. I know vegan lady she got her ferritin from 30 to 70 eating a lot of these fruits..
Also nettle supplements are good for energy and iron daily basis quick source
I love liver. Cut in small strips and fry it with avocado oil. So yummy. I eat it with flavored rice and a salad.
What about your time of the month? Could that possible be skewing some? Maybe heavier cycles? Changes in cycles. Mine was 37 in June, 57 in August and then 34 in Nov, so very up and down as well.
To eat liver I normally grind 1/3 liver, 1/3 ground beef and 1/3 bacon together. Form patties and fry them. Eat with hot sauce if it's extra strong tasting liver.
Do you have resources or coaching on how to improve my mental health through diet? You mentioned the vagus nerve and I do breathing exercises and meditation to help but I had no idea it also affected stomach acid. I’m wondering how to improve my gut microbiome and if I need to eat higher acidity foods now. Please let me know what kind of coaching you can do besides fodmap. Thank you!
I bought some liver and the texture was so disgusting that I couldn't eat it, and neither did the rest of my family so it all went into the bin, sadly. Anyway, as someone who has been struggling with low iron for a while now, I thought you could have included a lot more in this video than just speculation that meat intake would improve your iron status. This is not always the case. For example, you didn't even mention the effect that losing a whole bunch of blood on a monthly basis might be having (as a female). You touched on things that might be blocking iron absorption like other minerals, but there are a ton of other things that can do the same. A big one to mention here is Quercetin. But also coffee and tea, chocolate and relying on high oxalate sources etc.
I recently saw mention somewhere of grating frozen beef liver into hamburger - like one or two ounces to a pound of hamburger. Apparently it disguises it and you can't tell it's there. Haven't tried it yet, though.
My ferritin went down to 13 because of Coeliacs disease.
Consider infusion
Can probiotics help with this? Also can you take lemon water or juice in the morning instead
Any comment or concern for the high intake of oxalates in these heavily plant based diets?
For me beetroot juice are great source for healing gut issues...and get up your ferritin naturally
Your ferritin level also seems to go up in the summer (for some of the years, maybe the level wasn't always measured), so maybe the vitamin d from the sun can also have something to do with Ferritin, maybe due to lower inflammation? just a theory...
What do you think about a desiccated beef liver supplement? I have been struggling with super Low Ferrintin too. I was at 15 and my PC did not bat an eyelash. I got it up slightly with 6 months on an Iron supplement but felt like the iron supp started to upset my GI a little. I am SIBO symptom free for 2 years.
I would also be interested on thoughts about the desiccated liver supplements!
If you have HPylori it feed the bacteria too! Please be careful!
I love liver wrapped in bacon. Cooked either in airfryer or oven. I also torutued my family by dehydrating liver and grinding up after, but now I have powdered liver to add to a bunch of meals. Next time I will dehydrate when I can put it outside though. 😉😂
The dietary foundations certainly make sense, but then why wouldn't supplementation have helped at all? Did you try taking an iron supplement with the betaine HCL? I wonder if it's both. Perhaps, you didn't have enough acid to support iron absorption. Then once you supported the acid, you plateaued because your dietary intake wasn't high enough (again, assuming you stopped supplementing). I am very curious to know your thoughts!
That is an excellent theory! There could also be a lack in b vitamins or D, although she seems to track her nutrition pretty well.
Mine is high from 700 to 500 last time i have gastritis/hiatal hernia
I'm not a big fan of liver. That's why I buy duck/poultry liver pâté and I love it. I don't know if you can find it in the US (I'm French).
I hope its okay to reply this… I could never buy that in france. They force feed the poor animals to enlarge their livers its genuine abuse, some of the worst in the meat industry :( please consider not supporting and if you like it go for ground beef or a heme supplement. Its an animal source too but much less cruel
I eat a lot of read meat. Take iron supplements and my ferritin is always aroung 8 or 9. I also have celiac disease
Consider infusion
My ferritin was at 7 when it was first measured in 2020.
Doesn’t the Oxalate in the spinach negate the iron? Isn’t that true of other plants? Also cheerios tests very high in glyphosate - horrible stuff.
It does which is why spinach should be lightly boiled and the water discarded.
The levels in cheerios was high because of the Oat growers in Canada were inappropriately using glyphosate as a desiccant so they could harvest their crop earlier and avoid needing to wait for it to dry naturally (also less risk of crop damage). The glyphosate is only supposed to be used before planting to destroy weeds, but it was sprayed on the full grown plants and getting absorbed directly into the product! They aren't supposed to be using oats from companies that do this anymore, but it's still challenging for them to ensure that.
Mine was down to 8 and my doctors didn’t care.
Its very common and very sad. You are not alone
I was at 4 for over a year
My ferritin was 37 last I checked.
Watch Morley Robins.
Go Carnivore 🤘
Many Veg's return to Animal protein for iron and other benefits not supplied by plants.
I cook liver with a small amount of natural lard or bacon grease, dont have to cook for too long, I may add onions or bell peppers for taste.
Bon appetit 😀
Eat lentil every week to get iron.
Lentils with added vitamin c, maybe lemon for example 😊
@@Robohazrad No need it works without vitamin c, it makes your blood smells like rusty iron.
@@Robohazrad I eat em with sauerkraut
My GF was habitually low on iron despite being on 1000% of iron in her diet (we also used chronometer). Multiple tests showed this. Her doctors blamed it on her menses and woudn't look at it further.
I added kombucha and kefir to her diet and suddenly two months later her iron levels normalized. I chocked it up to poor absorption in the gut and it being used up as part of biofilm formation and e-coli.
Indirectly this would be improving bile acid absorption via lactic acid bacteria acting on FXR and triggering normal gut cycling of bile. see also "Evidence that bile salts are important for iron absorption" DOI: 10.1152/ajpgi.1994.266.2.G318 and more modern studies correlating bile health and iron levels.
You're probably struggling with this as well given your psomagen results and celiac. Interesting to see how you approached it!
For liver, try desiccated liver supplements. They're a great way to test the water on if it's going to work out well. The desiccated kind is nice cuz it still has the fats needed to absorb some of the other nutrients.
You can also add in sauerkraut alongside some of the high iron foods. The vitamin C along with the other acids in it can help with avoiding the iron being bound up. The anti-inflammatory effects from the fermented cabbage also can aid in healing the gut lining over the long term.