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Ferritin Secrets Your Doctor Isn't Telling You! · Create The Best Me

• 0:00
  Let's talk about iron and ferritin.
• 0:03
  What is it?
• 0:04
  How can we get it and how it can affect us differently, especially during perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause.
• 0:15
  We'll talk about the benefits and the risk.
• 0:18
  In my episode "Can You Regrow Hair After Menopause?
• 0:23
  Find Out," I talked about my excessive hair loss or shedding that began about November of 2023, and it got worse around May of 2024.
• 0:36
  I also talked about maintaining high optimal ferritin levels of 70 to 100 nanograms, which is recommended for women who are post-menopausal and suffer from hair loss.
• 0:51
  And so, on September 17th, 2024, I began taking 65 milligrams of iron supplements in hopes to increase my ferritin levels, which were 27 nanograms on June 14th.
• 1:07
  So I haven't had any new lab work since I started since it's still early, but I did decide to do more research and share my findings with you.
• 1:20
  And just a disclaimer here, please do not take any supplementations without getting lab work and consulting with your doctor.
• 1:31
  If you feel like your doctor is not addressing your concerns, it's okay to find another doctor.
• 1:38
  But again, do not begin taking any vitamins or supplementation without consulting with a medical doctor.
• 1:46
  So what is iron?
• 1:48
  Iron is a mineral that our body needs to grow and develop.
• 1:53
  Our bodies use iron to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells.
• 1:59
  Hemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to all other parts of the body.
• 2:04
  Having enough oxygen is very important, not just to our vital organs, but also to our scalp and hair follicles to promote hair growth.
• 2:15
  Iron is important for our muscles, bone marrow, organ function, and to make some hormones.
• 2:23
  How do we get iron through our diet?
• 2:26
  There are two types of iron that comes from our foods, heme and non-heme.
• 2:32
  The easiest to absorb is heme.
• 2:34
  I'll talk more about those later.
• 2:37
  About 70 percent of the iron in our body goes into producing hemoglobin, 25 percent goes into storage AKA ferritin.
• 2:49
  What are normal iron levels?
• 2:52
  Normal iron levels are between 35 and 150 nanograms.
• 2:59
  Symptoms of iron deficiency, also known as anemia: dizziness, fatigue, chest pain, irregular heartbeat, pale skin, and shortness of breath, weakness, cold hands and feet.
• 3:14
  What is ferritin?
• 3:16
  Ferritin is a protein that stores iron inside the cells.
• 3:21
  It's responsible for absorption, storage, and release.
• 3:25
  of iron when your body needs it.
• 3:27
  What are normal ferritin levels?
• 3:30
  Normal ranges between 120 to 252 nanograms.
• 3:36
  The optimal range if you're like me, someone who has suffering from hair loss is between 70 to 100 nanograms.
• 3:48
  Optimal range is the best to help promote hair growth.
• 3:53
  From what I have read, hair shedding, hair loss should stop if the cause is related to having low to low normal, ferritin levels.
• 4:05
  Symptoms of low ferritin: shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, irregular heartbeat, and in my case, hair loss or hair shedding.
• 4:16
  Symptoms of low ferritin: How do you increase your ferritin levels?
• 4:19
  Symptoms of low ferritin: Food.
• 4:19
  Symptoms of low ferritin: Here we go.
• 4:21
  Symptoms of low ferritin: Heme iron, liver, beef, pork, venison, and lamb, poultry, especially dark meat, such as drumsticks and thighs.
• 4:31
  Symptoms of low ferritin: Fish and shellfish.
• 4:33
  Symptoms of low ferritin: Eggs, oysters, shrimp, clams, sardines, mackerel, tuna, and scallops.
• 4:39
  Non-heme Iron: legumes, beans, lentils, chickpeas, garbanzo beans, white beans, red kidney beans, soybeans, black and lima beans, dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale, broccoli, nuts like macadamia, almonds, pine and cashews.
• 5:03
  Non-heme Iron: Seeds such as pumpkin, sunflowers, and flax seeds.
• 5:08
  Non-heme Iron: Whole grains, white quinoa, or rolled oats.
• 5:12
  Non-heme Iron: Pairing iron rich foods with those foods high in vitamin C like citrus fruit, tomatoes, peppers, can help improve absorption of iron.
• 5:24
  Non-heme Iron: Caffeine, tea, and calcium may hinder iron's absorption, so it's best to avoid consuming them when you're eating iron rich foods.
• 5:34
  Non-heme Iron: Taking iron supplements, talk to your doctor about which ones are right for you or ask your pharmacist as to which ones they recommend.
• 5:45
  Non-heme Iron: How does one develop low iron?
• 5:48
  Non-heme Iron: Not eating enough iron, unable to absorb iron properly due to gut or bowel conditions such as celiac disease or Crohn's disease.
• 5:58
  Non-heme Iron: Blood loss through menstrual cycles or internal bleeding.
• 6:03
  Non-heme Iron: Consult with your medical provider so they can run additional iron tests.
• 6:09
  Non-heme Iron: How much iron do we need per day?
• 6:12
  Non-heme Iron: Adult men between the ages of 19 to 50, 8 milligrams.
• 6:19
  Non-heme Iron: Women ages of 19 to 50, 18 milligrams.
• 6:25
  Non-heme Iron: Both men and women 51 and above, 8 milligrams.
• 6:30
  Non-heme Iron: If your hair loss is due to iron deficiencies and you are either eating iron rich foods or taking a supplement that your doctor recommended you take, you should start to see improvements within a few months and three to six months to see notable changes, such as on an average, hair grows between point 5 and 1 point 7 centimeters per month.
• 6:59
  Non-heme Iron: That's about 0 point 2 to 0 point 7 inches.
• 7:05
  Non-heme Iron: Can too much iron be harmful?
• 7:08
  Non-heme Iron: The answer to that is yes.
• 7:11
  Non-heme Iron: That is why it's very important to talk to your doctor first before grabbing your bottle of iron supplements as consuming too much iron can lead to iron poisoning.
• 7:24
  Non-heme Iron: Signs of iron poisoning could be vomiting and diarrhea, lethargy, dehydration, abdominal pain, and in some cases, death can occur.
• 7:35
  Non-heme Iron: This is why it's so important to work with your doctor.
• 7:39
  Non-heme Iron: Iron studies are repeated 60 to 90 days of oral supplementation.
• 7:45
  Non-heme Iron: Women who are perimenopausal have a greater risk of developing anemia and having low to low normal ferritin levels due to having heavy menstrual cycles during this period versus women who are post-menopausal are at greater risk of iron buildup because we have no way of releasing excess iron.
• 8:09
  Non-heme Iron: Even though post-menopausal women are discouraged from consuming iron supplements and are steered toward consuming a well balanced iron rich diet, post-menopausal women can still develop anemia.
• 8:24
  Non-heme Iron: This is why, again, it's important to consult with your doctor as they may recommend the amount of iron you need and the best way of getting it.
• 8:34
  Non-heme Iron: Just a friendly reminder, perimenopause is the phase before menopause.
• 8:41
  Non-heme Iron: It's when your cycle begins to become unpredictable, heavy bleeding, or your cycle is different.
• 8:48
  Non-heme Iron: This phase can last several years.
• 8:51
  Non-heme Iron: Menopause is when you have not had a cycle for one year, 12 months.
• 8:58
  Non-heme Iron: And post-menopause is after menopause, one year after your last period.
• 9:04
  Non-heme Iron: So if you're like me, who has a low normal ferritin level and are shedding a significant of hair daily.
• 9:14
  Non-heme Iron: I recommend you talk to your doctor for additional testing.
• 9:18
  Non-heme Iron: Obtain a referral to get a second opinion from a dermatologist and find out what can be done to salvage your hair before it's too late and before taking iron supplementations?
• 9:31
  Non-heme Iron: Because as I mentioned, if you are a woman who's postmenopausal like me, consuming more than eight milligrams could damage your organs or worse be fatal.
• 9:43
  Non-heme Iron: So I will discontinue my use of iron until I speak to my doctor.
• 9:49
  Non-heme Iron: But, I will continue to do what I had said previously.
• 9:54
  Non-heme Iron: I will continue to use my red light therapy, I will continue to take Nutrafol, I will continue to take, saw palmetto, and I will continue to wash my hair every other day.
• 10:08
  Non-heme Iron: I will continue to use the hair topical that I'm currently using on my hair, and massaging it, because all of these things that I am currently doing have been recommended by a medical doctor.
• 10:24
  Non-heme Iron: With that said, I'd like to be honest here; based upon my research, as you saw in, "Can You Regrow Your Hair After Menopause?
• 10:34
  Non-heme Iron: Find Out," it appears I've been dealing with low ferritin levels for 16 years and perhaps even longer, but I don't have any documentation to support anything beyond 2008.
• 10:47
  Non-heme Iron: But what I would tell my younger self is not to buy into any of these diets that promise amazing weight loss results.
• 10:57
  Non-heme Iron: Instead, focus on eating nutritional foods that are essential to keep me healthy.
• 11:05
  Non-heme Iron: The key word here is healthy because my postmenopausal body and hair will thank me.
• 11:13
  Non-heme Iron: For additional information, please visit createthebestme.com/ep089.
• 11:21
  Non-heme Iron: And don't forget to share, like, and subscribe.
• 11:25
  Non-heme Iron: And don't forget to come back next week as our guest will be the owner and founder of award winning supplements, Udo's Choice, Udo Erasmus.
• 11:36
  Non-heme Iron: Udo will discuss Omega 3, 6, and 9 oils and discuss the importance of focusing on consuming good quality Omega 3 and 6.
• 11:48
  Non-heme Iron: Trust me, this is an amazing episode and Udo will be giving our audience a digital copy of his upcoming book, "Your Body Needs an Oil Change" and a free video course, so you'll need to come back next week.
• 12:05
  Non-heme Iron: Thank you for watching.
• 12:06
  Non-heme Iron: Catch you next week.
• 12:07
  Non-heme Iron: Bye for now.