Ferritin or liver supplements? Anyone tried them?

[MiniMum97]

Hi

I am struggling to get my ferritin levels up. I have been taking solgar gentle iron for over a year off and on due to stomach issues. I have finally had to give up on these due some very unpleasant gut issues that I won't go into. I can't stomach the taste of liver - tried that, continue do it even in a very super flavoured chilli!

So my options seem to be ferritin supplements - don't really know anything about these or how they would work - what are they exactly - it says bovine ferritin - so extracted iron stores from a cow? How is this different to any other iron? Is it less likely to cause stomach problems? How much do I need to take of these?

Or dessicated liver supplements - if these, how much do I need to take? I am concerned about overdoing vitamin A and the supplements I have found don't say how much vitamin A is in them.

Many thanks

[Nanaedake]

I haven't tried the types of iron you mention. I've tried taking liquid Floradix but it has some other vitamins in so ok if not supplementing anything else I guess, I found tablets prescribed upset my stomach and the Floradix seemed better but I've no idea what's best. Perhaps different things suit different people?

[MiniMum97 in reply to Nanaedake]

Thanks for your reply, I can't take floradix as I am in a low FODMAP diet and it contains concentrated fruit extracts that I can't have.

[Nanaedake in reply to MiniMum97]

Ok, no good then. What is a FODMAP diet by the way?

[MiniMum97 in reply to Nanaedake]

Hi It's the first line treatment for IBS now. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides Disaccharides, monosaccharides and Polyoyls. Which refers to certain sugars in a number if foods that are hard to digest and so cause symptoms in IBS sufferers.

[Justiina]

How about lactoferrin? Works well for some.

I chose liver even though taste is not great. It's difficult to over dose vitamin A if you eat liver once a week. I eat liver patee so i can eat it pretty much every day as it contains less liver itself.

[Lor7 in reply to Justiina]

No, you can overdose on Vit A!

[Justiina in reply to Lor7]

Ofc u can, but not if you eat moderate amount of liver once a week. Don't have to eat a lot.

There are several studies indicating it needs long term to get over dose of vitamin A.

Besides taking vit D and K7 counteract toxicity of A. Or more so vit D and A counteract toxicity of each other.

[Lor7]

How about Spatone with Vit C? I use this, non constipating and all natural. Buy on Amazon U.K. Worked very well for me.

[Lynneypin in reply to Lor7]

Worked for me too. Took a while but was very effective. I used regular spatone and added vit c powder, in juice.

[startagaingirl]

Hi - you mention IBS symptoms and trouble raising iron levels. Are you gluten free? Such symptoms are usually actually a sign of an underlying food intolerance and the inability to absorb nutrients woud very possibly also back that up. Any trial needs to be strict and for at least 3cmonths to have an impact. If you are already gluten free have you considered other intoleances? Personally I have found I also need to be dairy and soy free.

Good luck,

Gillian

[researcherUK]

You've mentioned that you are following FODMAP. Do you have candida? that could give one explanation as candida feeds on iron and sugar. If you are strictly following FODMAP, this will include eliminating all grains as they are transformed into sugar and most contain Gluten which also inhibits the absorption of several minerals to include iron.

There are other brands of "iron bisglycinate" that are also "gentle" on the guts. Perhaps it is a good idea if you are not gluten free yet to consider it & take a different brand of gentle iron with vitamin C. If required, I can send you a direct message about two other brands.

[MiniMum97 in reply to researcherUK]

Thank you for replying but as I am not immunocompromised it is not possible for me to have a systemic candida issue. It is more likely that my difficulty absorbing nutrients is caused by the low stomach acid that accompanies hypothyroidism.

In addition, you don't have to avoid all grains on low FODMAP, just grains that are high FODMAP.

I have been gluten free before and this made no difference to my gut symptoms.