<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
 
>>I had low iron for years before being diagnosed. I ate lots of iron rich
foods and tlook supplements, to no avail. I was also experiencing a lot of
bruising. After diagnosis, I read about malabsorbtion of fat-soluable
vitamins. VITAMIN K is one of them, which aids iron absorption. I got some at
GNC at the mall, and my iron zoomed up almost immediately! I ran out, and
within 2 weeks the bruising returned. I shall NEVER run out again!<<
 
Bruising can be caused by a vitamin C defficiency.    Vitamin C is also
very important for iron absorption - Research has shown that 200 mg of
Vitamin C per day will DOUBLE the amount of iron absorbed from the food you
eat.    (This does not apply to the iron in meat, which is mostly in the
form of hematin, which is already very readily absorbed (about 85%).  So
perhaps it would be a good idea to ALSO take some vitamin C.
 
Vitamin K is produced by bacteria in the gut, so if you had a defficiency
of it,  you may have some degree of malabsorption and/or an intestinal
overgrowth (the wrong balance of flora).   In that case, strictly following
a gluten-free diet (if celiac) and considering possible reactions to grains
OTHER than wheat (if already following a gluten-free diet) might be
helpful.   Supportive measures to encourage the correct intestinal flora
such as yoghurt, acidopholus (with bulgaricus, thermopholus, etc)
supplements, and possibly even capryllic acid and/or proplis capsules,
cooking with garlic and ginger, echinaccea or tahebo tea, avoiding simple
sugars and excessive fats, etc. might all prove helpful.
 
IMPORTANT NOTE:   Iron supplements can encourage the WRONG bacteria.   Iron
is the major growth limiting factor for most microorganisms (with the
single know exception of the Lactobilli, which are beneficial) and most
iron supplements are in a form that is readily available to bacteria.
Iron in meat, eggs and goat's milk (much less so in cow's milk) is locked
up (sequestered) in proteins (hematin, ovalbumin, and lactoferrin,
respectively) where it is inaccessable to (most) bacteria.   It would,
therefore, probably be better to increase iron intake thru these foods and
by taking vitamin C (as noted above) rather than thru the use of
supplements.     Iron supplements in excessive amounts are extremely toxic
to young children -  the largest single source of poisionings in the US is
adults iron supplements eaten as candy by young children - a very difficult
to treat, life-threatening situation.
 
Routine iron supplementation of some foods harms more people than it helps
(screenings have shown only about 6% of adults to be iron defficient
whereas about 10% carry one allele for iron overload and are harmed by such
routine hidden supplements.)
 
Jim Barron
Chapel Hill NC
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