02/12/2020
Iron is the most common mineral deficiency in the world, with 30% of the world’s population being anemic and an estimated 80% of people lacking the ideal amount of iron. Why, though, is iron important for healthy body function?
Iron is the key component of the hemoglobin which helps the red blood cells carry oxygen through the blood. I don’t need to tell you what oxygen does for your body. Without iron, the blood loses it’s ability to transport oxygen to all of the different organs in the body. This results in fatigue, breathlessness, aches and pains, dizziness, pale skin, heart palpitations, dry or damaged hair or skin, swelling or soreness of the tongue and mouth, restless legs, brittle or spoon shaped nails, and cold hands & feet along with several other symptoms.
In a study from WuHan China Medical center, in an article titled Serum Iron Levels as a Potential predictor of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Severity and Mortality: a retrospective study, they found that 90% of sick, hospitalized coronavirus patients had low serum iron levels (aka: anemia) and that a person’s serum iron levels could predict the severity of the coronavirus case.
From this, we can learn quite simply that one of the simplest ways we can protect ourselves from a severe case of Covid (and I believe that almost everyone will catch it or be exposed sooner or later), is to make sure that we keep our iron levels up. Obviously, there are other things that can play into severity, many of the other comorbidities of Covid include things like diabetes (which is also often closely linked with anemia), ischemic heart failure and other already life-threatening conditions, which Covid seems to push over the edge, but considering that 90% of the severe Covid cases in WuHan China also happened to have anemia (to the point that they were able to predict how severe a case would be based on a person’s blood iron levels), we can be safe in assuming that removing that factor (iron deficiency) can bring us a big step closer to having a very light reaction to the disease.
A couple weeks ago, I was reflecting on what I have considered to be the strangest symptom of Covid: the loss of taste and smell. Up to this point, I had not been able to see a connection with everything I had heard about covid and this strange symptom. Why would a virus that seems to attack the blood, be related to iron deficiency and potentially lung damage, cause the loss of taste and smell? Then I recalled something I had read in the book The Skin, Tongue and Nails Speak by Donna Burka Wild. In the book, under the section of the tongue, where it talks about iron deficiency, it mentions a condition called Atrophic Glossitis. When the body lacks iron (or vitamin B12, responsible for helping red blood cells mature), the tongue has a tendency to smooth over; the taste buds literally atrophy (disappear). This results in the loss of taste. With further digging, I found this 2016 study titled, Does iron deficiency anemia affect olfactory function? (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26963317/). In this study, they found that overwhelmingly, the subjects with iron deficiency anemia had “a significantly lower threshold, discrimination, and identification (TDI) value” than those without anemia. This means that those with anemia had lost or at least had significantly weakened senses of smell. At least, for me, this seems to have cracked the case on the strangest of Covid symptoms.
In conclusion, we need iron. We need our blood to be able to carry oxygen. In many cases, the breathlessness and difficulty breathing that people experience with Covid is related to iron deficiency. But now we know that many of the other strange symptoms of Covid can also be linked to this iron deficiency. So, what now? What can we do to increase iron in our blood?
In the European Journal of Nutrition, they found that Lacto-fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, increases the availability of ferric iron in the food. Eating good quality meats and plenty of dark green leafy vegetables, legumes, beets, liver, dark chocolate, and fish (such as salmon and sardines) can also help increase iron in the diet.
We have had a lot of success using Standard Process’ Ferrofood supplement which provides easily absorbed iron along with all the nutrients your body needs to create and mature the red blood cells in a pill that you only need take once or twice a day. (available at our Standard Process Account Store at https://drkylechristensen.standardprocess.com/products/ferrofood, or at our office if you live nearby).
There are several ways to check for iron deficiency (short of taking a blood test), my personal goto method is just by checking under the lower eyelid. Look in a mirror and use a finger to pull your eyelid down. The flesh under the eye should be nice and reddish pink. If it is pale or white, there is a good chance that you are anemic. You can also check inside the mouth, under the lips in a similar way or if you are naturally pale, that is probably the easiest sign.
If you are anemic, do whatever you feel you need to to get those iron levels up. Not only will this give you a better chance of having an easier time with Covid, but it will increase energy levels, help with breathing troubles, headaches, and a whole other list of anemia-related health problems.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment or send me a message.
