Are you iron deficient? May affect nearly 1 in 3 Americans

A new study says 1 in 3 Americans may have an undiagnosed Iron deficiency, and the symptoms are so subtle they are often overlooked."A lot of the time when I see patients who are iron deficient, they actually came for something else, and I, as a hematologist, am always going to scrutinize their blood counts," said Dr. Arielle Langer, a hematologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 14% of adults have "absolute iron deficiency,” which is a severe reduction or absence of iron in their blood. This is most common in women of reproductive age — 15% of adults have what's called "functional iron deficiency," meaning they have adequate iron levels but not enough for the body to use it effectively. This affects women and men of all ages. "It also often sneaks up very slowly because we usually lose iron over time by bleeding, and that brings back to why women are affected. Having a period every month means losing iron every month," Langer said.Why is this so important?"Our red blood cells are red because they're full of this protein called hemoglobin, and iron sits right in the core of it. Iron is doing all the work. It's what's grabbing the oxygen from your lungs and then carrying it all around your body and releasing it there so that all of your body has the oxygen it needs," Langer said.Low iron or anemia can leave you short of breath, fatigued, or even dizzy."So maybe all the sudden carrying the same bag of groceries to your car feels harder than it used to be," Langer said.Those kinds of symptoms can be easy to ignore, but other signs are harder to miss."General thinning of hair without a change in the scalp skin is something that can also happen with lower iron," Langer said.The urge to chew ice can also be a symptom of iron deficiency, according to Langer.Another sign is restless leg syndrome."So, this is the thing can happen when you're trying to fall asleep or rest quietly where you feel like you can't hold your legs until a lesser extent your arms still and can make it really disruptive to fall asleep," Langer said. If untreated, it can have serious impacts on your overall health."When it's gotten more severe, it can start to stress your heart. You do need a little bit for your muscles all over your body including your heart muscle. So, the lower your iron is, the more urgent it is for us to correct it," Langer said.There are ways to make sure you're getting enough iron."So, a well-balanced diet is actually pretty rich in iron. The healthier ways to get iron in are things like beans and then anything that's a dark green vegetable. Also, leaner types of meat like poultry and fish do have iron, just not as much as red meat. Those are all much healthier ways to get iron in, but ultimately for adults, it's really about losing iron," Langer said.If it turns out you are iron deficient it's important to talk to your doctor about dietary changes and supplement options.