Iron question

[Dougg]

Hi all.

I was reading a recently cited Mayo Clinic paper, and it stated that "A common oral iron regimen [for RLS] is 325 mg of ferrous sulfate (65 mg elemental iron) ..." I've been taking two 25-mg capsules (every two days) of Ferrous Bisglycinate Chelate (the Ferrochel trademarked brand, marketed by Thorne). I wondered how that translated to the recommendations above, and I came across this article - walrus.com/questions/elemen... - which, based on labeling of a NOW product, suggests that it would take 380 mg of Ferrous Bisglycinate Chelate to equal 65 mg of elemental iron. That would be about 15 capsules of my Thorne supplement every two days, which is about 25% of the entire bottle. The walrus.com article does point to research that suggests that Ferrous Bisglycinate Chelate is more efficient that ferrous sulfate, so one shouldn't have to take as much. But it isn't clear to me how much "as much" actually is.

I'm left wondering if I'm taking way too little iron. My serum ferritin level has meandered between 95 - 144 ng/Ml over the last five or so years.

Has anyone else worked out a conversion of recommended elemental iron to Ferrous Bisglycinate Chelate in order to determine an optimal bi-daily intake?

Thanks!

[DicCarlson]

The proof is in the testing for Ferritin - you could experiment with supplementation for any number of weeks, test for Ferritin - then switch supplements and test again. There is really no assessment of absorption, especially iron other than testing. Ferrous Bisglycinate is very friendly to gut health. Ferrous Sulfate caused constipation and other gut ills. And the real test is iron supplementation on your RLS. Many people find relief (myself), but many others get no effect at all from iron supplements.

[SueJohnson]

If you don't have constipation from ferrous sulfate(I didn't), stick with that taking it with 250 mg or Vitamin C or some orange juice.

[Tanker1]

The label on my bottle of Ferrochel says each capsule contains 27 mg of elemental iron while the label for the ferrous sulfate bottle says each capsule contains 65 mg of elemental iron. To get the same dose of elemental iron from Ferrochel, one would have to take 65/27= 2.4 capsules.

[Dougg]

Thanks, all!

[WideBody]

I had few issues with liquid ferrous sulfate. 325mg which is 65mg elemental iron. I took it on an empty stomach, nothing to eat two hours before or one hour after.

I was told the black stools are caused by the iron binding with the protein in the stomach.

[Dougg]

Thanks!

[Hidden in reply to Dougg]

It might be helpful to look at what percentage of the RDA is stated on each bottle of iron. I believe that 18mg of ferrous bisglycinate is 100% of the RDA and one capsule of ferrous sulfate is also 100% of the RDA. Like you, I take one to two capsules of 25mg of ferrous bisglycinate so we are getting 130 to almost 300% of the RDA. I get immediate relief of RLS symptoms this way, but I must take it every night (on an empty stomach away from all other supplements) or every night that I want relief from the RLS. See my profile page.

[Dougg in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, LonePine. An excellent suggestion.