Another personal story…an iron deficiency!

I am sure you will recall that I noted to my dismay a mild vitamin B2 deficiency upon returning from overseas last year. (See November 2025 newsletter) Well, with mild alarm a few weeks ago I noticed some telling tales of mild anaemia…yes…slightly disappointed with myself!

I was waking with a mild headache, (something I luckily never suffer from), I was slightly dizzy, unusually tired and was experiencing slight and erratic heart palpitations. Rather classic signs of a developing iron deficiency.

Self-inflicted, I confess! I always take a vitamin B complex, daily non-negotiable and an organic iron supplement 1-2 x per week,( many of you would be aware that I am vegetarian). However, I had recently forgotten to bring some iron supplements home for the clinic and then got slack. My last blood test over a year ago showed my iron stores were okey dokey and until a few weeks ago was feeling my normally energetic self.  These initial symptoms rudely awaked me to my self-imposed stupor! I immediately restarted my iron capsule twice a week for three weeks and now back to once a week.

My iron supplement contains 12.5 mg of elemental ferrous fumarate and 10 billion CFU’s lactobacillus plantarum (L. plantarum), a probiotic and 80 mg vitamin C. Important to note that clinical trials have illustrated that L. plantarum combined with iron in the form of ferrous fumarate and vitamin C improved absorption of iron ranging from 23% to 50%.

Within two week all my symptoms have disappeared, and mental note to self, do not allow slackness to infiltrate your specialised supplement regime!