Consistent nutritional deficiencies?

[Onegiantcrunchie]

Hi everyone.

It's been years since I was diagnosed and stopped eating gluten. The problem is I can't seem to maintain a healthy iron level.

I get tested for iron deficiency over and over, they always tell me my iron is low, and they prescribe me supplements. I'm sure I don't absorb them. I've tried so many different types - the tablets, the iron-rich water sachets, the one that dissolves in water, the sublingual spray... but I also eat a LOT of meat and liver. I eat a lot of eggs, a lot of dried apricots. I honestly don't know where I could reasonably fit more iron into my diet. I can only conclude that I just don't absorb much of it. The problem is getting an alternative to iron that has to be 'absorbed'. I'm thinking of asking my doctor for an iron IV, on the grounds that I'm coeliac so I might have diminished absorption capabilities.

Has anyone else experienced problems with reversing nutritional deficiencies and what would your solution be?

Thanks!

[Scott Adams]

I know that @knitty kitty and @Posterboy have posted extensively on nutrient deficiencies, so perhaps they can chime in here, but with iron absorption I do believe that there are tests that can be done to detect certain issues with being able to absorb iron. Also, be sure to take high dose vitamin C, especially when eating foods high in iron like red meat or spinach, as you need it to absorb iron:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/iron-deficiency-anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355034

Last, do you know weather or not you've villi have healed? This can take up to two years once you go gluten-free. The most common cause of your issue is celiac disease.

[knitty kitty]

Thanks for calling on me.  Apologies for not being able to answer sooner.  

I found some articles for all to read. 

Scott is correct in that Vitamin C helps with iron absorption.  Other vitamins that will help treat anemia include Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B12 and Folate (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B6, Vitamin A and Vitamin E.  Minerals that help are zinc and copper.  

"The role of vitamins in the prevention and control of anaemia"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10948381/

And...

"Nutrition‐specific interventions for preventing and controlling anaemia throughout the life cycle: an overview of systematic reviews"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6513621/#!po=6.52174

Hope this helps.

[Posterboy]

On 8/24/2021 at 1:06 PM, Scott Adams said:

I know that @knitty kitty and @Posterboy have posted extensively on nutrient deficiencies, so perhaps they can chime in here, but with iron absorption I do believe that there are tests that can be done to detect certain issues with being able to absorb iron. Also, be sure to take high dose vitamin C, especially when eating foods high in iron like red meat or spinach, as you need it to absorb iron:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/iron-deficiency-anemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355034

Last, do you know weather or not you've villi have healed? This can take up to two years once you go gluten-free. The most common cause of your issue is celiac disease.

 

On 8/19/2021 at 3:45 PM, Onegiantcrunchie said:

Hi everyone.

It's been years since I was diagnosed and stopped eating gluten. The problem is I can't seem to maintain a healthy iron level.

I get tested for iron

deficiency over and over, they always tell me my iron is low, and they prescribe me supplements. I'm sure I don't absorb them. I've tried so many different types - the tablets, the iron-rich water sachets, the one that dissolves in water, the sublingual spray... but I also eat a LOT of meat and liver. I eat a lot of eggs, a lot of dried apricots. I honestly don't know where I could reasonably fit more iron into my diet. I can only conclude that I just don't absorb much of it. The problem is getting an alternative to iron that has to be 'absorbed'. I'm thinking of asking my doctor for an iron IV, on the grounds that I'm coeliac so I might have diminished absorption capabilities.

Has anyone else experienced problems with reversing nutritional deficiencies and what would your solution be?

Thanks!

One Giant Crunchie,

Scott is right.....Knitty Kitty and I do know a lot about nutrition....IE supplementation because we found taking our "Missing Nutrients" was key to help us feel better.

The article Knitty Kitty cited is a good one......she does goes good research.

Here is a couple more that might help you.

Is achlorhydria a cause of iron deficiency anemia? - PubMed (nih.gov)

Low or NO stomach acid can be independent cause of Iron Deficient Anemia.....and is often overlooked.

Low Stomach Acid is also common in Celiac's and NCGS patients.

Another less well know cause is co-factors......like the Vitamin C they have already mentioned and Copper, Zinc and Vitamin A deficiency status....

Celiac's are commonly low in many Micronutrients that act as Co-Factors for absorption of other nutrients.....and being low in two or three other nutrients will limit your absorption of your other nutrients like Iron in your case.

Here is a blog post I wrote about this recently discovered connection of eating gluten free alone won't help your nutrition status until you also address your other many common Micronutrients..,,

Mayo Clinic Study Shows Micronutrient Deficiencies Are (Still) Common in Contemporary Celiac Disease Despite Lack of Overt Malabsorption Symptoms - Celiac.com

Your sulfur status which can be significantly impaired in SIBO and low stomach acid patients can also affect your Iron status....

Modulation of sulfur assimilation metabolic toxicity overcomes anemia and hemochromatosis in mice - ScienceDirect

But for me......I have found more stomach acid helped my co-existing Vitamin deficiency as much or more than anything else I did....

A simple home test to check to see if Low Stomach Acid could be the underlying cause of your Low Iron levels can be done by the taking "Baking Soda Test"....

See this Dr. Jockers article that explains this well......the Baking Soda test is near the bottom....

You might be surprised to find your stomach acid is lower than you think it might be!!!!

I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advice.

Good luck on your continued journey!

Posterboy,

[Onegiantcrunchie]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all your advice.

One thing jumped out to me straight away which is that I never eat vitamin C with my iron! I tend to just eat the beef etc with some carbs. No veggies! That's something I'll make a change on  I'll also check out those studies and articles to see if there's anything else. Thank you all again.

[Beverage]

Make sure you are going to a hematologist or doc really knowledgeable about blood tests.

I was told all my life to take more iron as I had anemia, but this was very harmful to me.  Not until I was 19 did I finally get to a hematologist for some other issue (probably when my Celiac's was first triggered) that diagnosed me with Thalassemia.  His diagnosis involved blood tests but also examining it under a microscope.

Thalassemia is a blood disorder, aka, Mediterranean anemia, that is inherited and the one thing that you should not be taking is iron, as it is not used and builds up in liver and very bad for you. 

I inherited it from my mother's side, who is Portuguese, but it is prevalent in many other ethnicities...Italian, African, etc. 

I'm not saying you necessarily have Thalassemia, but not all anemia is from iron deficiency, and taking iron in that case, can be harmful. 

[Onegiantcrunchie]

19 hours ago, Beverage said:

Make sure you are going to a hematologist or doc really knowledgeable about blood tests.

I was told all my life to take more iron as I had anemia, but this was very harmful to me.  Not until I was 19 did I finally get to a hematologist for some other issue (probably when my Celiac's was first triggered) that diagnosed me with Thalassemia.  His diagnosis involved blood tests but also examining it under a microscope.

Thalassemia is a blood disorder, aka, Mediterranean anemia, that is inherited and the one thing that you should not be taking is iron, as it is not used and builds up in liver and very bad for you. 

I inherited it from my mother's side, who is Portuguese, but it is prevalent in many other ethnicities...Italian, African, etc. 

I'm not saying you necessarily have Thalassemia, but not all anemia is from iron deficiency, and taking iron in that case, can be harmful. 

Thank you for this! Actually my GP raised the possibility of thalassemia when I was 14 and had had repeat anaemia. But in the UK I think you have to be referred to specialists like this, you can't just go on your own. But either way I was never referred so I suppose my GP must have decided it wasn't thalassemia? Hmm! I wonder if it's more likely that I had coeliac even back then, just undetected (I didn't begin having severe and obvious symptoms until my mid-20s), or if maybe it was indeed thalassemia. Definitely something to think about!

Thanks again for your reply

[Jellybird]

I'm in a similar situation. My doctor told me to take Hemiplex. It has a high amount of daily iron in it but also has vitamin C and B-12 mixed right into the pill. I take it right before I go to sleep so I don't interact with other foods (milk, calcium, and caffeine can all decrease absorption). https://www.amazon.com/NaturesPlus-Hema-Plex-Sustained-Release-Gluten-Free/dp/B00014EFFQ 

[jona]

On 9/2/2021 at 9:29 AM, Onegiantcrunchie said:

Thank you for this! Actually my GP raised the possibility of thalassemia when I was 14 and had had repeat anaemia. But in the UK I think you have to be referred to specialists like this, you can't just go on your own. But either way I was never referred so I suppose my GP must have decided it wasn't thalassemia? Hmm! I wonder if it's more likely that I had coeliac even back then, just undetected (I didn't begin having severe and obvious symptoms until my mid-20s), or if maybe it was indeed thalassemia. Definitely something to think about!

Thanks again for your reply

If they do a CBC with a differential, they should be able to tell if you have a form of thalassemia as your blood cells look different under microscope.  I didn’t find out the specific type of thalassemia I had until I was pregnant and got more specific testing. I have  beta thalassemia trait. My doctor keeps an eye on it as he knows what my baseline CBC results should be. He recently did an iron panel and I’ve got normal levels of iron. One of the few normal blood tests I got back.  Good luck!