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Hi I’m Alia , happy to join you.
Hello there,
My name is Alia and I’m mother of three kids (6,5,3 years) and an upcoming newborn who’s coming within the two next weeks. I’m local living in Dubai / UAE.I have joined myself with you in this journey to get better knowledge and advanced practices to change our health lifestyles me and my family.
i want to focus on what is suitable and necessary for us as adults and what to not miss with my kids in terms to support their health and growth process.
My major goals are to get a fundamental knowledge and to gather the best information to build my plan daily, weekly, monthly and for a life time.
My husband is ambitious with the healthy lifestyles so i would like to support him in this and to make our kids too.
i would like to gather information about organic healthy foods, supportive supplements (specific brands), and everything that supports the healthy lifestyle and immunity overall.
hoping that I’ve explained my targets very well. Happy to join and eager to benefit from this experience as much as possible.
Thank you.
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7 Replies
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Hi ,
My name is Daniel and I help Bernadette on the platform.
… and welcome! Let me give you a quick ‘tour’ around here:
In the ‘Beginners Health Roadmap’ (just click on the bold text), you will find a lot of simple lifestyle recommendations on which all the other courses build on.
The ‘Gut Health Masterclass’will guide you through how the digestive tract works, where it could go wrong and what possible supplements you can use.
If you have any questions, you can post them here on the forum. Feel free to ask anything (and turn your question into a learning opportunity for everyone!).
In the ‘Monthly Courses’, there is even more great content like the course on Blood sugar regulation & Fatty Acid Balance. And don’t forget to take a look here. You will find guest speakers on the platform who share their expertise on various topics and supplements.
Do you already have an idea of what things you would like to change in your life(style)?
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Thank you for the response and the guidance. Sure I’ll start navigating throughout the courses and topics and will get back whenever i have question to ask.
Just one thing in my mind now , is that my kid’s (6 years old) iron count in the blood is low ,, is there a specific useful supplement i can start using it with him immediately? Specific name or brand !!
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Before I recommend an iron supplement: is there anything known about why the iron count in the blood is low? And are there other blood markers you can share?
For example, do you know anything about the body’s storage form of iron ‘Ferritin’?
Usually markers like Erythrocytes, RBC count, hematocrit, MCV, Hemoglobin can provide us more insight as well. Do you have them and would you like to share them if you have them?
Could you provide me with some information about your kid’s diet? Is it for example mostly plant-based?
I have some additional tips for increasing iron absorption. Possibly you are already aware, consider them then as gentle reminders 🙂
Increasing iron absorption
• Iron needs stomach acid to be absorbed. In the Gut Health Masterclass there is explained a cheap and quick test with baking soda you could do to check if stomach acid is low. It isn’t a diagnostic test, but it could help you to decide if you can supplement with betain HCl (which helps making the stomach more acid).
• In addition: vitamin C increases iron absorption as well.
• Iron coming from meat is also better absorbed than iron from plant-based foods.Can you tell me if your kid had an infection recently? Infections sometimes can lead to a lower iron count as well. The body can sequester iron away and store it as ferritin as a way to protect the body against infections becoming bigger.
In order to find a working strategy to raise the iron count, we need to find out first why the iron count is low!
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Hello and welcome to our tribe! I’m so happy you’re here with us, and all the best with your delivery soon! How exciting!!
I saw that has already replied to your query about low iron already.
Please do let us know if you have any other questions or need guidance while getting started. We’re here to support you the best we can. ❤️
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I’m not sure of what was the reasons of this deficiency. But I can notice some symptoms on him like tiredness, and his mouth color is always white and his face color too.
A year ago he swallowed a metal coin which lasts five days in his stomach. Then he passed it with stool, after that he was facing difficulty in passing stool, and a severe constipation, but everything went fine after that.
Recently ,a month ago he swallowed another metal coin again , and I’m not sure if these coins have affected his digestive pathways, or not.
In terms of healthy food, he’s eating fine, but not too healthy and not too junk also.
But anyways, I want to support his eating, especially an iron rich foods, or supplements.The iron deficiency was a result shown when he did one of the blood tests. That’s why I knew he has Ferritin low count.
Supplementing with gummies or any multivitamins might be fine also with him because I can add it to his lunchbox every day.
So if you recommend anything that is organic like a fruit or vegetables or even proteins and Supplements, you can let me know please.
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The pale color and the tiredness can be signs of iron deficient anemia. But let’s focus first on what you can do with supplements & foods.
With choosing supplements and focussing on foods it is important to be aware of a few things. For a 6 year old the safe Upper Limit(UL) for iron is 20mg. For a 6 year old 10 mg is the recommended daily amount.
A supplement for kids unfortunately is hard to find. Liquid iron drops usually have some preservatives but are extremely well absorbed and might be worth the chemical additive trade-off for short-term use.
You could for example try these drops from La Sante.
Liquid iron should also be taken in a little (1/8 cup) juice to improve taste, and brushing teeth right afterwards is key to prevent staining (and a win-win for oral hygiene!).
A food based approach is possible as well:
Foods containing a lot of iron are for example:
• Spinach (2.7 mg of iron for 100 grams or 3.5 ounces)
• Lentils (3.3 mg of iron for 100 grams or 3.5 ounces cooked)
• Red meat (roughly around 3 mg of iron for 100 grams or 3.5 ounces)
• Turkey (1.4 mg of iron for 100 grams or 3.5 ounces)
• Chicken (1 mg of iron for 100 grams or 3.5 ounces)
• Dark Chocolate (3.4 mg of iron per 28 gram or 1 ounce)
• Tofu (3.4 mg mg of iron for 126 grams or 1/2 a cup)
• Pumpkin seeds (2.5 mg of iron for 28 grams or 1 ounce)
• Liver is high in iron as well and has recipes to make it tasty!Foods can also reduce iron absorption:
• Calcium can decrease iron absorption, so avoid high calcium foods like milk & milk products.
• Oxalates can bind to iron making it unavailable for absorption. Examples of foods that are high in oxalates are coffee, thee, spinach & chocolate (I realize that spinach & dark chocolate are also high in iron. They might not work for everyone. Each person’s gut is different)So try to avoid combining iron foods & supplements with milk products, calcium supplements or multivitamins containing calcium.
When a kid swallows a coin it can take 48 hours and 5 days before they poop it out. If you saw dark stools it could indicate that the coin might have damaged the intestinal wall. Your child might also experience some stomach pain and vomiting.
If this is the case or you are worried, just ask your doctor to examine your kid.
If your doctor says everything is fine, but you feel the gut might be damaged, you could try some gut healing. In the Gut Health Masterclass you will find strategies on how you can approach this with foods & supplements.
A final note on raising ferritin levels: in the presence of iron deficiency anemia it can take a few months to raise ferritin since the body will use the iron to create more hemoglobin first. It takes around 3 months to replace all red blood cells. Seeing ferritin go up can take even longer (Upto 6 months!)
Following other blood markers like for example Hemoglobin, MCV & iron might provide you a better insight on functional iron status.
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I agree with Daniel that it’s important to understand why his iron is low. If he’s eating an omnivorous diet which includes animal proteins, then here are some additional root cause reasons why his iron might be low for you to investigate further:
• Internal bleeding (has this been ruled out by doctors after the ingestion of the 2 coins?)
• Malabsorption, for example, in the form of celiac disease or food sensitivities
• Gut dysfunction, such as H. pylori infections leading to hypochlorhydria (low stomach acid) which impedes iron absorption
• Pathogens, such as parasites & yeast overgrowth which use up iron stores & block absorption
• Inflammation, such as mercury toxicity which interferes with iron synthesis
• Calcium supplementation or calcium-fortified foods impeding absorption
• a genetic mutation limiting iron absorption (ex. thalassemia)
• Low ceruloplasmin & bioavailable copper cause the body to store iron in the liver and brain instead (have you checked his ceruloplasmin & copper levels?)
• Some mold mycotoxins can block heme synthesis, a part of our hemoglobin. Any suspicions of mold exposure at home?In terms of iron supplementation, I encourage you to search B Better’s supplement dispensary in Fullscript. Once you create an account and log in, click on “Catalog”. In the search field, type in iron, then filter your search by choosing “liquid” as the form to narrow the choices down. There are great brands to choose from; Pure Encapsulations, Integrative Therapeutics, Vitanica, Trace Minerals, etc.
Hope this helps!
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