Someone mentioned (sorry I can't remember who) that taking iron supplements is quite taxing on the body. I would like this to be explained please.

Your not getting the whole food... whole foods are designed for digestion. When you dont get the whole food, your body must compensate by providing everything necessary to digest the iron.

If your worried about iron... go eat some watermelon. And then take the seeds, and make tea with them. Its an excellent kidney and blood purifier.

I think certain kinds of iron supplements can also collect inside the body--you can't get most of them OTC in Canada. Awhile back, I was looking for supplements and asked a pharmacist about my situation (I had my period for 33 days and as a result slept constantly). The pharmacist sold me the lowest dosage ferrous gluconate, told me to take only ONE pill, and see a doctor to get my iron levels tested, because at the wrong doses they can be very harmful.

I never DID get them tested...

Then I went raw and ate lots of salad. Haven't felt better since!

thank you - does any one else have anything to offer? all opinions gratefully received

who gives

I feel taking iron supplements saved my life and that was a year before I found raw foods first for my dog then for people/which include me

I took iron for a whole year and within 2-3 days I and other's could tell something different was going on with me..and it was a good thing.

I would say this, taking iron supplement will let you know if you need to up your green veggie (especially dark green leafy veggie juices) intake within only a few days, where the juice and or food may take some time due to factors of your current health, deficiency, digestion, etc.

I started out with on tablet did a lot of research, and then upped it to taking 3 a day at the highest for several months, then I started to taper off as I got better, health improved, I had some energy to even do searches on the Internet that led me to raw foods eventually. I had just about every symptom of low iron and anemia they name..which is about 12. You can research it yourself..it's very interesting.

Food sources would be your safest of course, and what you want in the long run, sometimes a supplement can help in the short term though. You might try taking in daily fresh green juices, unsulphered blackstrap molasses to name 2 food sources. Also taking high amounts of vit-c foods with food sources of iron help the body to absorb iron.

Love,
Prism

I have seen anemic children with serious anemia, that would have been stunted for life had they not gotten their iron up quickly with supplements (as it is, children with low iron never quite catch up to their peers--not that growth is always an indicator of health, but I think in this case it says something). Western medicine is horrible for preventing diseases or helping chronic diseases, but in acute situations like extremely low iron, I think we should take full advantage.

I hardly trust doctors for anything, but I would want my iron checked before taking an iron supplement, and I would re-check it every few months thereafter until I knew it was fine.

though a suppliment helps a symptom, does not make it healthy to the whole...

I prefer to get my iron by eating fresh whole natural foods. Spinach is full of iron the body can use.

If you suspect you have anemia, it is VERY important to find out what is causing it. Iron deficiency anemia is only one of many different types of anemia.

In a graduate level nutrition class, we learnt that iron has no way of being actively excreted from the body (other than a small amount lost in stuff like sloughed off cells). Therefore, if you are taking high dose iron supplements, I might suspect that iron overload could become a problem.

It would definitely be best to confer with your doctor before taking iron supplements!

Thank you all very much. I have been on prescription iron for quite some time and I was concerned about any effects that might have. I definately feel loads better for getting my iron levels up however when i was eating a sad diet they wouldn't stay up - my doctor suggested bad absortion. Now I am nearly all raw I wonder if my body will absorb the iron better. I will probably stop taking the iron again soon and it will be interesting to see if my levels fall and if so by how much. I will post another thread to ask for ALL best sources of iron.

thank you all so much for your time in replying