Stronger Every Day – Have You Had Your Iron Levels Checked Lately?

Michelle Superle is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and a Research Associate for the Food and Agriculture Institute here at UFV. Michelle is also a member of the Early Intervention Support Program (EISP), a proactive, university and union-supported program helping guide and support employees throughout their medical leave and/or accommodation. Thank you Michelle for sharing this information on our Stronger Every Day platform.

You Think There’s Nothing You Can Do About It

You’re so tired it feels like you’re wearing shoes made of cement. Walking up a single flight of stairs leaves you too winded to gasp out your own name. You forget the word for “salad” (leaf lunch?).

You were never like this before, but it feels like this is your life now.

Everyone has an opinion. Your mom tells you to get more sleep. Your best friend says it’s the stress. Your dog walker tells you that her cousin’s sister had the same thing AND got dizzy every time she stood up, but then she started taking (insert any herbal supplement here) and now she’s fine. Your doctor subtly suggests it’s because you’re (insert any age and/or lifestyle here).

Maybe it is. But maybe it’s time to get your iron levels checked.

If you’re exhausted—I know, we’re all exhausted, existentially, if not physically – and extra rest doesn’t help, your iron levels might be to blame. And if your exhaustion comes with a side order of brain fog, shortness of breath, a mysterious urge to chew ice cubes, and/or dizziness (among other symptoms), then it’s definitely time to get your iron levels checked.

Low iron levels and iron-deficient anemia are a major global health issue that affects women disproportionately. The World Health Organization reports that around 30% of women worldwide suffer from iron-deficient anemia. Equally worrisome, according to an article from the National Library of Medicine, “iron deficiency without anaemia (IDWA) is at least twice as common”. A recent American study found that in the United States, “almost 40% of females ages 12 to 21 years are iron deficient”; according to “Michelle Sholzberg, director of hematology at the University of Toronto and the Hemequity lab at St. Michael’s Hospital”, the Canadian stats are the same (Harrison).

That’s one heck-uva-lotta tired ladies.

Despite this prevalence and the fact that “low iron levels can impact your life” (Katella), have the potential to lead to serious health concerns, can make you feel just plain “miserable”, iron deficiency is also “poorly recognised by clinicians” (Al-Naseem et al). “It’s an easy one to miss,” according to Yale Medicine. One reason for this is that “[m]any of the symptoms of iron deficiency without anemia are ‘nonspecific and vague’, which can make them easy to disregard” (Weyand et al). For example, the “signs and symptoms of anemia are often hard to spot because they can mimic those of depression and other illnesses” (MacPherson).

What does that mean for you?

Well, for one thing, it means you might face an uphill battle if you’re trying to convince a medical professional to consider your iron levels as a possible cause for your fatigue — especially if they register in the “normal” test range. And that’s a problem.

Iron deficiency affects women much more than men, and people from low-income and marginalized groups disproportionately — so is it a coincidence that it’s frequently overlooked? But wait, there’s more: even the so-called “normal” range of iron levels are based on “flawed scientific data” (Sholzberg). That’s a problem.

But luckily for us, Canadian women are doing the research to support improvements. Professor Kristen Connor and her team at Carleton are “examining new options for treating and preventing iron deficiency”. Dr. Menaka Pai, the hematology clinical lead for Ontario, and her team at McMaster has spent years researching and advocating for policy change to adjust “normal” ranges to ensure more accuracy and inclusivity (Harrison).

Thanks to such advocacy, Ontario has recently increased the lower limit of the “normal” range so that more women qualify to receive treatment. This is important, because treatment for iron deficiency is both straightforward and highly effective. What’s more, it’s not even expensive!

The fact that so many women — and therefore all the loved ones they care about and for — are suffering needlessly is deemed as a structural problem of “inequity” by Sholzberg and “a feminist issue” by Pai (Harrison).

So the next time a medical professional (of any gender) suggests that your iron levels are “in the normal range” or, better still, “just at the low end of normal”, you don’t have to take it sitting down (unless, of course, your dizziness is serious enough that you have trouble standing — then you should remain seated). Instead, give them a print-out of Dr. Pai’s findings and ask about the best treatment for you.

Hopefully that’ll do the trick. If not, don’t give up. Just move on to Plan B.

Make an appointment with a naturopath to discuss your concerns. Naturopaths possess a much broader and more nuanced understanding of “normal”, with their approach focusing more closely on what’s normal for YOU.

Our extended health benefits provide sufficient coverage for an appointment with a naturopath and the bloodwork necessary to assess your iron levels accurately.

Here’s to finding some much-needed pep in your step now that Spring has sprung. You deserve it!