help on ferritin/iron

[Hopeful129]

I did a medichecks iron blood test as last blood test ferritin level was low so was advised on this forum to check full iron too. Here are results

Iron 27.8 ( 5.8 -34.5)

TIBC 64.2 ( 45-81)

UIBC 36.4 ( 24.2 - 70.1)

Transferrin Saturation 43.3 (20-50)

Ferritin 23.4 ( 13-150)

CRP HS 0.3 ( 0-5)

In this case, is the only way to increase ferritin by eating chicking livers!!!!! Would like some advice how to best supplement

[seveneleven]

I've got similar ferritin levels and am taking heme iron because it doesn't have any gastric side effects, so sort of like just eating lots of liver I suppose. I've seen that some here have had good success with Three Arrows Simply Heme. Terrible and annoying American website, but good product. See what others say though who can properly interpret your iron levels.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

Hopeful129

Those results show that supplementing with iron would be the wrong thing to do.

Optimal iron panel levels according to rt3-adrenals.org/Iron_test_... are:

Serum iron: 55 to 70% of the range, higher end for men - yours is 27.8 ( 5.8 -34.5) which is 76.66% which is already higher than optimal.

Saturation: optimal is 35 to 45%, higher end for men - yours is 43.3% which is close to the top of the optimal range.

Supplementing with iron is very likely to take both of these over range which would lead to toxicity/iron overload and this is not recommended.

Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC): Low in range indicates lack of capacity for additional iron, High in range indicates body's need for supplemental iron - yours is TIBC 64.2 ( 45-81) which is 53.33% so nicely mid range which is a good place to be.

So yes, it's just low ferritin with no need to improve the rest of your iron panel which means that you should try and raise ferritin through diet. Chicken livers is not the only way, you can help raise your level by eating liver regularly, maximum 200g per week due to it's high Vit A content, also liver pate, black pudding, and including lots of iron rich foods in your diet

bda.uk.com/resource/iron-ri...

everydayhealth.com/pictures...

[Hopeful129 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Thanks so much, i already eat chicken liver pate twice a week, lots of nuts and seeds, green veg, lots of chicken and red meat. Only thing i can think of adding is orange juice to help absorption.

[Hedgeree in reply to Hopeful129]

Hi Hopeful,

One of the thing's that's helping me to increase my ferritin is having some vitamin C with meals. I like ginger and lemon shots or small glass of juice.

I've also stopped having tea to drink alongside my meals. Over the last two months my ferritin has risen from 32.7 to 47ug/L

Obviously I've still got a long way to go but being a vegan makes it more difficult but at least my levels are improving.

I'd definitely give the orange juice a go 🙂

[Alternatively in reply to Hedgeree]

Hi Hedgeree, just read your post re increasing your ferritin while being Vegan, and I wondered if you could let me know what you ate to increase your levels? because it seems that so many of the foods we are more likely to consume inhibit the absorption of iron. Thankyou so much.

[Hedgeree in reply to Alternatively]

Hi Alternatively,

It's a coincidence that you've commented today as I've been looking at vegan iron supplements only this morning! 🤷🏻‍♂️

When I increased my ferritin I was having a small glass of juice with meals (no drinking tea at the same time any more) I tend to eat a variety of green leafy vegetables such as kale and broccoli. I also consume lots of legumes; chickpeas, lentils etc. I eat a lot of stews and casseroles; I was doing well but my recent blood test showed my ferritin has dropped again, think I lost my way a bit!

So I'm now starting again and taking two sachets of spa tone gentle iron in a juice shot every other morning. But also looking at vegan ferritin supplements, there is one but it's expensive so I may just consider a vegan iron supplement in addition to the spa tone. As you know you've got to check iron levels when you supplement it.

With this post being an older one I may start a new post as someone did mention a good vegan iron supplement on another post. I thought I'd remember it but no completely forgot what it was called 🙄

[Alternatively in reply to Hedgeree]

Many thanks for your reply! I need to get my other iron levels checked but in the meantime I Must eat more Legumes alongside my veggies, and no more coffee with my meals!!

I’ll look out for your new post!

Sending you my very best.

[csj113 in reply to SeasideSusie]

Interestingly and somewhat contradictory to this I had very low Ferritin but my Haemoglobin was at the top of the range. TIBC etc in range at time too. I had a 600ml iron infusion.

My Ferritin went up and my haemoglobin dropped very slightly. Other levels remained stable. This was what the clinic had predicted. I can’t remember the complexities of it though they did explain it at the time.

[humanbean]

This is just a suggestion, and is not guaranteed to work...

In some people optimising vitamin B12 and folate will change the ratio of serum iron to ferritin. So in your case, if it worked, it might reduce your serum iron and saturation, and increase your ferritin.

If this does work it suggests you have a (very, very common) gene problem related to MTHFR, which is a gene affecting something called methylation.

stopthethyroidmadness.com/h...

People with this gene problem should optimise folate with methylfolate (and avoid folic acid), and optimise B12 with methylcobalamin (avoiding cyanocobalamin)

Note, people with MTHFR problems may need to take methylated supplements in tiny doses to begin with, and build up as tolerance develops.

mthfr.net/methylfolate-side...

If B12 and folate are already optimal there are other ways to improve methylation. The supplements I know of that aren't folate or B12 are :

TMG - Trimethylglycine

healthline.com/nutrition/tm...

There is another option called DMG - Dimethylglycine

studybuff.com/what-is-the-d...

MSM - Methylsulfonylmethane

healthline.com/nutrition/ms...

All the above are available from Amazon.

[Hopeful129 in reply to humanbean]

thanks so much. I have just bought cytoplan b12 sublingual so looks like it was a good buy and worth trying to increase b12 and potentially ferritin

[Lynneypin in reply to humanbean]

thanks for this. I’m one of those with MTHFR problem. very low ferritin and slightly over range iron. I’m going to get retested. I’ve tried eating chicken livers once a week but worry that has pushed up the iron.

[humanbean in reply to Lynneypin]

Let us know if you try any of my suggestions and they work to increase ferritin and lower iron. Good luck.