Iron

[VodkaShots]

The Doctor Has Recently Told Me That I Don't Absorb Iron? Does Anyone Know Why This Could Be And How Doctors Find Out The Cause? Thank You

[caregiver222]

As Drnee stated there are many possible causes for a failure to absorb iron. On the other hand, many health conscious individuals eat no meat and do not cook in iron frying pans. Women in particular often have chronically low iron levels due to menstrual blood loss. The question to ask is (a) is there no absorbtion of iron of (b) is there simply diminished absorbtion. If there is diminished absorbtion adding a bit of high iron foods to the diet might do the trick. I would not take iron supplements without consulting my physician because there can be side effects from such a protocol. As Drnee stated, there a number of diagnostic tests available to pinpoint the cause.  Often the condition can be treated.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Thanks for writing to the forum!

Acidity, inflammation of intestines, diseases like IBS, Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease, malabsorption syndromes like intestinal tuberculosis, HIV, tropical sprue, parasites in stool and Whipple’s Disease can all cause poor iron absorption.
Diagnosis is done by blood tests, endoscopy, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, etc depending on the cause.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!