Iron Info Heme vs Non Heme

[DicCarlson]

So, Heme iron is from animal sources and is apparently better absorbed than non Heme iron (from plant sources). The two different iron types are absorbed by different pathways. But, there are real risks in supplementing with Heme iron - Coronary Artery disease and Cancer incidence increases. I would suggest to ONLY supplement with plant based iron supplements and Ferrous Bisglycinate Chelate seems to be the clear winner for raising Ferritin levels in RLS patients. Great video here - answers a lot of questions...

nutritionfacts.org/video/th...

[SueJohnson]

That is very interesting. Thank you for posting it.

[Jumpey]

Thanks for the info.

[DataRN]

Truth is that majority of RLS patients get little to no benefit from taking any forms of oral iron. Have you raised your ferritin to >150 taking an oral iron supplement?

If iron deficiency is the underlying cause of RLS for a patient, oral iron supplements, even taken with Vitamin C to help with absorption, are incredibly unlikely to raise ferritin and transferrin to therapeutic levels. An intravenous infusion of Venofer, Feraheme or Infed, etc. are needed to raise serum levels in a therapeutic way.

For those who find relief from taking oral iron supplements, it’s quite likely that iron deficiency is not the root cause of their RLS and they will likely need adjunctive therapies to control RLS symptoms.

[DicCarlson in reply to DataRN]

I had severe RLS with a ferritin level of 49 and % sat of 20. I tried taking black strap molasses (a home remedy I read of on the internet). Well, it cut into the RLS! Then I started on oral Ferrous Bisglycinate daily, mid morning away from food. Severe RLS was gone in a month, ferritin rose to 105.

[WideBody]

great information, thanks.!

[DataRN]

I’m really glad for you. That is super rare and awesome!