A year ago, every marker in my iron group was optimized. So what was causing iron to build up in my blood to nearly toxic levels? What had changed? Looking back, I realized that a year ago was around the same time I started working for InsideTracker.
Before joining the company, I donated blood to the Red Cross and local hospitals as often as I could - sometimes four or five times a year. After I came to InsideTracker, I stopped donating blood because I was frequently getting blood draws in order to test new features and new vendors. I decided to test this hypothesis with a good old-fashioned bloodletting. Incidentally, elevated iron is the only condition for which bloodletting is the medically recommended cure.
What can your blood tell you about yourself? Take a deep dive into your biochemistry. Get in touch by phone or email contactus insidetracker. The inside guide Evidence-based tools to empower you to live a healthier, longer life. By Ryan W. Cohen , October 1, Those suffering from abnormally low levels, known as anemia, may notice:. LifeServe Blood Center cannot determine the cause of your low hemoglobin level.
If you find at the time of your donation that you do have a low hemoglobin level and you are not a frequent blood donor, then you may wish to have your hemoglobin level rechecked. If you donate three or more times a year and do not have other causes of anemia or low iron levels, your low hemoglobin could be related to blood donation. Simply increasing the amount of high iron foods in your routine diet or taking iron supplements should restore your iron levels to normal during the next several months.
Approximately 10 percent of potential donors are not able to donate blood at one time or another due to low hemoglobin level. If your hemoglobin is low, we encourage you to follow the steps above to increase your level prior to your next donation. Search Search. Section Menu. Iron Levels As a generous blood donor, your health and safety are our main priority.
The majority of your total body iron is stored in hemoglobin in your red blood cells. The Blood Center tests your hemoglobin before each donation. Since iron is an essential part of hemoglobin, a low hemoglobin can indicate low iron stores and anemia. However, some donors may have depleted iron stores despite having normal hemoglobin levels. Iron deficiency with anemia can cause the following adverse effects: cognitive dysfunction, fatigue, pregnancy-related complications, decreased exercise endurance, and pica the desire to compulsively ingest non-food substances such as ice or clay.
Most iron deficient blood donors do not have anemia. The adverse effects of non-anemic iron deficiency are less clear, but studies suggest that it may impair quality of life. The following blood donors have an increased risk of developing iron deficiency: young donors specifically teenage donors , premenopausal donors, frequent blood donors and donors with hemoglobin values near the minimum for eligibility.
Eating a well-balanced, iron-rich diet is helpful; however, diet alone may not replace all the iron lost from blood donation. Taking multivitamins with iron or iron supplements can restore iron stores more quickly than a healthy diet alone.
A dose of elemental iron of 18 to 28 mg taken daily for 60 days is sufficient to replace the iron lost during donation. The lower dose 18mg available in multivitamins minimizes side effects like upset stomach, constipation or loose stools.
Iron supplements may affect the absorption of other medications and may not be recommended for everyone, including people with iron overload syndromes like hemochromatosis.
You should check with a physician or pharmacist familiar with your health history before taking any new dietary supplements. Iron-containing products should be kept out of the reach of children to prevent accidental poisoning.
Because there is a limit to iron absorption — a few milligrams a day — taking larger doses for a shorter time will not increase absorption and will result in more side effects. The goal is to gradually replace the iron lost during donation.
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