{"id":2549,"date":"2026-03-13T11:40:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T18:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/?p=2549"},"modified":"2026-03-13T11:52:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T18:52:27","slug":"stronger-every-day-have-you-had-your-iron-levels-checked-lately","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/2026\/03\/13\/stronger-every-day-have-you-had-your-iron-levels-checked-lately\/","title":{"rendered":"Stronger Every Day – Have You Had Your Iron Levels Checked Lately?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"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>, 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

You Think There\u2019s Nothing You Can Do About It<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019re so tired it feels like you\u2019re 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 \u201csalad\u201d (leaf lunch?).<\/p>\n

You were never like this before, but it feels like this is your life now.<\/p>\n

Everyone has an opinion. Your mom tells you to get more sleep. Your best friend says it\u2019s the stress. Your dog walker tells you that her cousin\u2019s 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\u2019s fine. Your doctor subtly suggests it\u2019s because you\u2019re (insert any age and\/or lifestyle here).<\/p>\n

Maybe it is. But maybe it\u2019s time to get your iron levels checked.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re exhausted\u2014I know, we\u2019re all <\/em>exhausted, existentially, if not physically – and extra rest doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s definitely time to get your iron levels checked.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, \u201ciron deficiency without anaemia (IDWA) is at least twice as common\u201d. A recent American<\/a> study found that in the United States, \u201calmost 40% of females ages 12 to 21 years are iron deficient\u201d; according to \u201cMichelle Sholzberg<\/a>, director of hematology at the University of Toronto and the Hemequity lab at St. Michael’s Hospital\u201d, the Canadian stats are the same (Harrison<\/a>).<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one heck-uva-lotta tired ladies.<\/p>\n

Despite this prevalence and the fact that \u201clow iron levels can impact your life\u201d (Katella<\/a>), have the potential to lead to serious health concerns, can make you feel just plain \u201cmiserable\u201d, iron deficiency is also \u201cpoorly recognised by clinicians\u201d (Al-Naseem et al<\/em><\/a>). \u201cIt’s an easy one to miss,\u201d according to Yale Medicine<\/em><\/a>. One reason for this is that \u201c[m]any of the symptoms of iron deficiency without<\/em> anemia are \u2018nonspecific and vague\u2019, which can make them easy to disregard\u201d (Weyand et al<\/em><\/a>). For example, the \u201csigns and symptoms of anemia are often hard to spot because they can mimic those of depression<\/a> and other illnesses\u201d\u00a0 (MacPherson<\/a>).<\/p>\n

What does that mean for you<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Well, for one thing, it means you might face an uphill battle if you\u2019re trying to convince a medical professional to consider your iron levels as a possible cause for your fatigue \u2014 especially if they register in the \u201cnormal\u201d test range. And that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n

Iron deficiency affects women much more than men, and people from low-income and marginalized groups disproportionately \u2014 so is it a coincidence that it\u2019s frequently overlooked? But wait, there\u2019s more: even the so-called \u201cnormal\u201d range of iron levels are based on \u201cflawed scientific data\u201d (Sholzberg). That\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n

But luckily for us, Canadian women are doing the research to support improvements. Professor Kristen Connor<\/a> and her team at Carleton are \u201cexamining new options for treating and preventing iron deficiency\u201d. Dr. Menaka Pai<\/a>, the hematology clinical lead for Ontario, and her team at McMaster has spent years researching and advocating for policy change to adjust \u201cnormal\u201d ranges to ensure more accuracy and inclusivity (Harrison<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Thanks to such advocacy, Ontario has recently increased the lower limit of the \u201cnormal\u201d range so that more women qualify to receive treatment. This is important, because treatment for iron deficiency is both straightforward and highly effective. What\u2019s more, it\u2019s not even expensive!<\/p>\n

The fact that so many women \u2014 and therefore all the loved ones they care about and for \u2014 are suffering needlessly is deemed as a structural problem of \u201cinequity\u201d by Sholzberg and \u201ca feminist issue\u201d by Pai (Harrison<\/a>).<\/p>\n

So the next time a medical professional (of any gender) suggests that your iron levels are \u201cin the normal range\u201d or, better still, \u201cjust at the low end of normal\u201d, you don\u2019t have to take it sitting down (unless, of course, your dizziness is serious enough that you have trouble standing \u2014 then you should remain seated). Instead, give them a print-out of Dr. Pai\u2019s findings and ask about the best treatment for you<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Hopefully that\u2019ll do the trick. If not, don\u2019t give up. Just move on to Plan B.<\/p>\n

Make an appointment with a naturopath to discuss your concerns. Naturopaths possess a much broader and more nuanced understanding of \u201cnormal\u201d, with their approach focusing more closely on what\u2019s normal for YOU.<\/p>\n

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

Here\u2019s to finding some much-needed pep in your step now that Spring has sprung. You deserve it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":213,"featured_media":2521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,4,10,11,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employee-stories","category-featured","category-fitness-challenge","category-information-and-resources","category-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2549"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2555,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2549\/revisions\/2555"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}