Well the diagnosis of "iron deficiency anemia" was certainly confusing to me given that my iron levels were never and I repeat - Never - an issue.  They have a separate test for iron and mine was always normal or even high.
I think it's just the particularly box that gets checked on the form they give to the doctor.  There was no underlying cause for my anemia - not one that could be checked off on the form (like cancer etc.)  So when women in my age group have low red blood cell counts - they just call it "iron deficiency anemia." And if you read the literature on it - It is a very common diagnosis for women in their 30s and 40s.  I wonder how many women receive that diagnosis while having normal iron levels.  I wouldn't be suprised if it were quite a percentage.
That my red blood cell counts were up the last time I saw my doctor (very low normal range - but in the normal range for the first time in years) - was a surprise to her.  And she's a good doctor - I made her read the Taubes book.  She's very interested in my diet and the effects it is having physiologically.
Other things I've noticed since going paleo (besides grey hair going away and my red blood cell count going up):
Relative lack of pain in my neck and back.  (not completely gone -but much abated).
No longer have to take medicine for GERDS (acid reflux).
No loss of work days due to fatigue.  In fact, I'm working 50-80 hours a week regularly with no real loss of brain or body function. (probably a red blood cell issue).
Much better mood!  (was surprised by this one).
I'm just an N of 1 - but I haven't been paleo for very long, so I consider these results to be significant.
In the fall I will get a full blood workup.  Very much interested in my CRP (cardio reactive protein) numbers which were very high one year ago.
gale



----- Original Message ----
From: Paleo Phil <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 9:52:38 PM
Subject: Re: What's more important, paleo or maximum health? Re: Was Chocolate, Now Paleo Standard

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paleolithic Eating Support List
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gale
> Sent: Saturday, June 28, 2008 11:36 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: What's more important, paleo or maximum health? Re: Was
> Chocolate, Now Paleo Standard
> 
> My red blood cell count has been better with the paleo diet.  But I'm
> not eating more red meat than I did before.  Just taking out the bad
> stuff.
> They called it "iron deficiency anemia" common among women.  But my
> iron levels were always fine.  And the iron pills did nothing positive.

That seems like a confusing contradiction. "Iron deficiency" means
abnormally low levels of iron, so I don't understand how your iron levels
could always have been "fine" with that diagnosis. Do you mean the
deficiency was a mild one or were you misdiagnosed? 

It would not be at all surprising that iron pills did nothing while you were
eating a modern diet with grains like wheat because grains contain phytates
that bind with minerals like iron and thus reduce their absorption. Reducing
grain consumption would tend to improve mineral absorption and thus increase
tissue mineral levels without any increase in red meat, and thus possibly
account for the reduction of gray (nutrient-deficient) hair. The iron pills
would also have not reduced the damage done to your organs by autoantibodies
produced in response to a modern diet, whereas a more Paleo diet likely
would.

BTW, iron deficiency anemia is often also accompanied by copper deficiency,
and copper deficiency reduces the absorption of iron, and both iron and
copper deficiency can reportedly contribute to gray hair.

> Maybe greying is just a stress signal.  Maybe it was oxidative stress
> and other kinds of stress - insulin with sugar consumption maybe? -
> others?
> gale 

Chronic stress is another of the many disorders of civilization that is rare
among hunter gatherer peoples. So chronic stress is a symptom of a modern
diet and lifestyle, rather than an underlying cause of modern disorders.
Chronic stress occurs in tandem with the other modern disorders, and acute
stress can aggravate the symptoms of many of those modern disorders, leading
many people to mistake stress for the underlying cause of modern disorders
when the more likely case is that both chronic stress and other modern
disorders like anemia are caused by discordant diet and lifestyle. Many
people who have adopted a Paleo diet report a reduction in chronic stress
and other modern disorders.