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Deficiency symptoms Iron supplements are less often
An iron deficiency manifests itself among other things by chronic fatigue and listlessness. Often you can meet such a deficiency well with the means of nature, but many people prefer to resort to dietary supplements. A new study now shows that too high a dose of iron supplements produces less effect.
Iron deficiency is noticeable through tiredness
Iron deficiency causes fatigue and symptoms such as impaired performance, dizziness, difficulty concentrating or facial blanching. Often sufferers get the problem by certain home remedies for iron deficiency, such as a diet change, under control, but especially many women are then prescribed by doctors iron supplements. In case of severe deficiency, the dose is increased daily to several iron tablets. However, according to a new study from Switzerland, this is counterproductive.
Special anti-iron supplements are often counterproductive. (Image: cevahir87 / fotolia.com) Body can not absorb desired amount
As the researchers of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich write in the journal "Blood", the body can iron, which is fed to him in a 24-hour rhythm, apparently not in the desired and required amounts. The culprit is the protein-like molecule hepcidin, which the body produces as soon as it gets iron, the researchers report on the ETH website. The molecule also enters the intestine via the blood, where it controls, among other things, how much iron is absorbed from the food.
Too high doses block iron absorption
Diego Moretti and his team have now shown that hepcidin blocks iron absorption when it is too high. And stronger and longer than previously thought. The study looked at over 50 young women whose iron stores were depleted but who were not yet suffering from anemia. The participants received a daily dose of at least 40 milligrams of iron, as is commonly administered in iron deficiency. It was found that the hepcidin concentration in the body reached its peak after six to eight hours, but 24 hours after the first iron administration was still present in sufficient amounts to significantly reduce the intake of the second iron dose.
Risk of overdose
However, the Swiss scientists have pointed out that the results of their study should be treated with caution. Subjects were all healthy, young women and iron absorption was studied only for two days. How hepcidin reacts to a medication lasting several weeks will be investigated in a follow-up study. Researchers from Munich had also pointed out years ago the danger of overdosage with iron preparations. Thus, the unborn child may be harmed by a wrong dose during pregnancy. (Ad)