3 ms·

for a long time, until I started eating meat I had low ferratin. Iron supplements didn’t help and even some weird ferratin supplements didn’t seem to work. But

for a long time, until I started eating meat I had low ferratin. Iron supplements didn’t help and even some weird ferratin supplements didn’t seem to work. But iron is not ferratin (it’s some kind of stored iron) and I’m not sure if it really had any affect. I was low ferratin but could I have been not low on iron? Either way iron deficiency is common in vegetarians and vegans, but there are plenty who are just fine. They get iron from tofu and spinach which is different from the iron from meat and maybe affects their levels differently, but it seems to work out.

aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
*ferritin
danachow 4y ago
Ferritin is the protein that stores iron in cells in almost every organism from bacteria to humans - but its exact structure and mechanism do differ. As a blood test, endogenous ferritin level gives an indirect measure of iron stores. Ferritin <25-30 ng/mL is consistent with iron deficiency anemia - levels higher than this are more difficult to interpret - they don't rule it out. Whether or not consuming plant ferritin (when you buy "ferritin" supplements that is what you're getting - usually a pea plant) is an effective iron supplementation is another question entirely. And as far as I know there is no great evidence that it is non-inferior to typical oral iron products (salts and saccharide compounds). The ideal treatment for iron deficiency anemia is typically IV iron (or blood transfusion if the anemia is profound enough to warrant it - but IV iron replacement is one of those things coming back into fashion finally after many years of being feared for reasons with poor evidence.
deleted 4y ago
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