Iron Deficiency
According to the World Health Organization, iron deficiency is the number one nutritional disorder in the world – as much as eighty percent of the world population may be iron deficient. As many as thirty percent of the world population may have anemia resulting from iron deficiency.
Iron deficiency usually develops gradually. This begins in the body with a negative iron balance – when your iron intake is not the body’s daily requirement of iron. At first, your body stores of iron are depleted, but the level of hemoglobin in their blood stays there. Anemia develops when the body’s iron stores and iron levels in blood are both weak.
Who is at greater risk for iron deficiency?
Women of childbearing age and pregnant women Preterm children of low birth weight children Teens Older Women and children who are individuals of very heavy menstrual periods with kidney failure, especially those on dialysis Individuals gastrointestinal disorders (such as celiac disease and Crohn’s disease) that can inhibit iron absorption. Continue reading