Iron is a trace element that is necessary to optimal health and wellness. You may have heard the term trace element before, but what are trace elements and why are they so important for healthy body function? Trace elements include iron, zinc, copper, manganese, cobalt, chromium, etc. They are called trace elements because they are required in relatively small quantities and they are elements which are the most basic building blocks in body chemistry. Elements cannot be broken down into smaller functional pieces; for example, iron is just iron atoms whereas other nutrients like vitamin C are made up of several different atoms. Ok, that is enough chemistry for now.  The point I want to make is that trace elements are essential for health and wellness because your body cannot substitute iron or zinc for another element or nutrient and work properly. Identifying and correcting trace element imbalances in your body is one of the ways functional medicine differs from traditional medicine.

Today I am going to discuss the importance of ideal iron levels in the body and how too little, as well as to much iron can cause health problems…yes, too much iron can be very damaging to the body. Your body does not have effective mechanisms for excreting excess iron and if levels rise too high, it can cause cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes from pancreas damage or heart failure. Iron imbalance problems are a very common problem we discover utilizing functional medicine testing procedures in our office. Unfortunately, iron status of the body is usually inadequately tested, and many people are suffering with too much or too little iron in their bodies.

Why Do You Need Iron?

Iron is probably best known for its role in transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood. You red blood cells have a protein called hemoglobin and you need iron to make hemoglobin. The iron in hemoglobin picks up oxygen in your lungs and carries to all of the organs in your body. Once it has dropped off its oxygen, it picks up carbon dioxide and carries to the lungs where you eliminate it. You breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide.

How important is adequate oxygen transport? Well, how long can you hold your breath? This is how long your body can function without oxygen being taken in and carbon dioxide being removed.  Consider this scenario; you are no longer permitted simply breathe in and breathe out freely. Instead, you are forced to breathe through a straw…all day and all night, week after week, month after month. This would not only be annoying, it would interfere with normal body function. This is basically what happens when you do not have enough iron; the cells of your body are struggling to get enough oxygen…they are breathing through straws.

The cells of your body need oxygen to create energy. This energy is required by your cells to perform all of their health-promoting functions. Here is the bottom line on oxygen; if you don’t have enough, your body simply cannot work properly.

Iron is also required for many other processes in the body including: cell division, growth, immunity, protein metabolism, thyroid hormone production and neurotransmitter balance in the brain and gut.

Testing Iron Levels

If you have had blood work done recently, then you probably had what is called a CBC performed. This is a test that among other things assesses your red blood cells. A CBC includes tests that evaluate the size and hemoglobin content of red blood cells (RBCs). The CBC is a useful test if you are screening for anemia. The problem with this approach is that you really want to identify iron problems BEFORE you become anemic. Anemia is not the first stage of iron deficiency; it is the last stage. You could be suffering with low iron levels and not yet be anemic. This is why I like to include other iron-assessing tests like ferritin, TIBC, UIBC and serum iron. Testing iron in this way we can identify the early stage if iron deficiency as well as iron excess. Too much or too little iron can cause significant health problems.

Iron Deficiency

There are many possible signs and symptoms of iron deficiency but some of the most common are listed below:

• Fatigue

• Poor recovery after exercise

• Headaches

• Dizziness or lightheadedness

• Hair thinning / loss

• Brittle nails

• Cold hands / feet

• Heart palpitation

• RLS (Restless Legs Syndrome)

• Pale skin

• Frequent infections

• Anxiety

A thorough assessment of iron status is one the first things we check with new patients. I consider proper iron balance to be one of the most fundamental factors in health restoration. If your cells cannot produce sufficient energy, they simply cannot maintain health.

                      If you are looking for a functional medicine doctor in Aurora, Frankfort or Geneva, please contact us today!

If you would like more information about nutrient testing, functional medicine or Dr. Sexton go to napervilleintegratedwellness.com

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information, you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources and organizations.

This approach to healthcare is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease. Why? The FDA enforces its position that these words can only be used with drugs. This approach does not use drugs.