We are alive because of brilliant biochemistry. Every system of our body is intricately woven together and works synergistically to keep you healthy and thriving. But your body relies on a specific ratio of macro- and micronutrients to function properly.

Iron is responsible for producing hemoglobin in our blood. Hemoglobin’s main job is to transport oxygen to our cells, which without oxygen, can’t function. And not much else will either, considering our body is made up of cells. When you are deficient in iron you can experience a whole slew of symptoms. The most common include:

• Fatigue
• Low sex drive
• Lack of appetite
• Difficulty concentrating
• Pale skin
• Dark circles under eyes
• Constantly cold
• Brittle hair and/or fingernails
• Shortness of breath

Iron deficiency affects over 1 billion people worldwide and is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies. Iron is lost through sweat, urine, and menstruation, making athletes and menstruating women at particularly high risk for deficiency. In fact, 1 in four women struggle with iron deficiency with an estimated 26 percent of reproductive aged women deficient in this nutrient.

Those eating a vegan diet are also at a higher risk of developing iron deficiency. There are actually two different types of iron – heme and non-heme. Heme is found only in meat and is considered the most bioavailable source of iron, whereas non-heme is found in plant foods like dark leafy greens, legumes, nuts and seeds, and mushrooms. So, while you can definitely still get an adequate amount of nutrients from a vegan diet, you will have to be more strategic the ensure you are getting in everything your body needs to thrive.

Iron deficiency vs. anemia

You can be deficient in iron without being anemic. Anemia is when your iron levels drop so low that it affects our hemoglobin production, but an earlier symptom of low iron is low ferritin levels in the blood. To determine if you are deficient you can look at iron two different ways. Serum iron, which measures the levels of iron currently circulating in your body, or ferritin which looks at the long-term iron storage in the body.

While we don’t want ferritin levels to be too high – this is correlated with increased inflammation – we don’t want them to be too low either, as that would be considered deficiency when even your iron stores are depleted.

It is also possible to be deficient in iron while still being within the range of what standard lab work considers normal. Working with a functional medicine practitioner who looks at a narrower reference range can determine if you are trending toward deficiency and if you can still benefit from a boost in iron to truly feel your best.

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