Your body is smart and is constantly sending you signals telling you what is going on inside. Some nutritional deficiencies will become apparent with these signs, and it is beneficial to be able to recognize them.
While people generally get enough vitamins and minerals, they may be deficient in some nutrients—one of which is iron. Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide - it is estimated that 30% of the world's population is anemic primarily due to iron deficiency.
Iron is an important dietary mineral that is required for a variety of body functions, including transporting oxygen in the blood, which is essential for providing energy for daily life. If you don't get enough iron in your diet, your body's iron stores can become depleted. This can make you feel tired and lower your immunity, leading to anemia.
The signs and symptoms of iron deficiency can vary depending on the severity, your age and current health - and in some cases; people have no symptoms at all. Most people don't realize they have mild anemia until they have routine blood tests.
Here are some signs and symptoms of iron deficiency you should be aware of:
extreme fatigue and tiredness
You have good sleep hygiene and get regular rest, so why do you always feel tired and have trouble concentrating? Feeling tired is one of the most common symptoms of iron deficiency, affecting more than half of people with iron deficiency.
The fatigue you experience means your body is unable to deliver oxygen to your cells, so it affects your energy levels. Because fatigue is often considered a normal part of busy modern life, it's often difficult to diagnose iron deficiency based on this symptom alone.
dark circles
Dark circles are common and are usually caused by lack of sleep, but in some cases they can indicate other health issues. An iron deficiency prevents your blood from carrying enough oxygen to your eye tissues.
Shortness of breath
Shortness of breath is another common symptom. Because hemoglobin enables your red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body, when oxygen levels are low due to iron deficiency, oxygen levels also decrease. This means your muscles won't get enough oxygen to perform normal activities, such as walking.
Therefore, your breathing rate increases as your body tries to get more oxygen. If you find yourself out of breath while doing things you normally manage well, such as climbing stairs, an iron deficiency may be the cause.
hair loss
Are you losing your hair? It's normal to lose about 100 hairs a day, but if you find that your hair is falling out too much and not growing back, it could be a sign of iron deficiency.
Iron deficiency, especially when it develops into anemia, can lead to hair loss because the hair follicles don't get enough oxygen, they go into a resting phase and the hair falls out. It will not grow back until the anemia improves.
pale complexion
Has your skin lost its healthy glow? Hemoglobin gives skin its rosy color, so low levels can lighten the skin.
This may be easier to detect in people with lighter skin, but no matter your skin tone, if the area inside your lower eyelid is lighter than normal, it could be a sign of iron deficiency. This is often one of the first signs doctors look for for low iron levels.
Unusual cravings for non-nutritional substances
This may sound like a strange symptom, but pica, craving (and eating) non-food substances like ice, dirt, or starch, can be a sign of iron deficiency.
People with iron deficiencies may be tempted to chew on chalk, clay, dirt, and paper.
Tingling or crawling sensation in the legs
Can't stop being upset? According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, about 15 percent of people with restless legs syndrome are iron deficient. The lower the iron levels, the more severe the symptoms.
Headache, dizziness, or lightheadedness
There are many possible causes of headaches, but frequent, recurring headaches and dizziness may be signs of iron deficiency. This symptom seems to be less common than other symptoms, and dizziness or lightheadedness is often present.
An iron-deficient body prioritizes getting oxygen to your brain before worrying about other tissues. However, even then, your head will still be smaller than ideal, and in response, the arteries in your brain will swell, causing headaches.
cold hands and feet
Have you ever noticed that some people always have cold hands? Usually, this is just a side effect of the body's internal temperature regulation and is nothing to worry about. Some people are just generally more likely to feel cold or have cold hands and feet.
But chronically cold hands may be a sign of something more serious, as iron deficiency can lead to reduced oxygen delivery to the hands and feet.
Fast or irregular heartbeat - feeling anxious
A noticeable heartbeat, also called palpitations, may be another symptom of iron deficiency anemia.
Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that helps carry oxygen throughout the body. In the case of iron deficiency, low levels of hemoglobin mean the heart has to work harder to carry oxygen.
A lack of oxygen to body tissues during iron deficiency may also lead to feelings of anxiety. However, this tends to improve or resolve as iron levels are corrected.
Swelling and soreness of tongue and mouth
You can tell if you have iron deficiency anemia just by looking in and around your mouth.
Symptoms may include a swollen, inflamed, pale or unusually smooth tongue. Low hemoglobin due to iron deficiency can cause the tongue to become pale, while low levels of myoglobin can cause the tongue to become sore, slippery, and swollen. In addition to weakening the color of your tongue, low iron levels can reduce levels of myoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that supports muscle health, like the muscles that make up your tongue. As a result, many people with iron deficiency complain of tongue pain, inflammation, and abnormal smoothness.
Iron deficiency can also cause dry mouth, red and cracked corners of the mouth, or canker sores.
brittle nails
Chipping and breaking nails can be annoying, but they can also be a sign of deficiency. A less common symptom of iron deficiency is brittle or spoon-shaped nails, a condition called onychomycosis.
This often starts with brittle nails that chip and break easily. In the later stages of iron deficiency, spoon-shaped nails may develop, in which the nail is sunken in the middle and raised at the edges, giving it a rounded, spoon-like appearance. However, this is a much rarer side effect that usually occurs only in severe cases of iron deficiency anemia.
It's best to have a blood test to confirm your iron levels. You know your body best, so if something doesn’t feel right, get it checked out.
