The one self-care tip (almost) everyone needs for radiant health!
Happy new year my dearests!
I do not know about you guys but the New Year are a time of year where:
- I take stock of the year past, send my gratitude and thanks to what served me best and release what has gotten in my way; and
- it is a time of the year where everyone around me is exhausted!
And this year is no exception!
It is also a time of year where everyone talks about self-care but there is one self-care tip for birthing parents and people with vulvas that I rarely see…
…IRON, yes mamas!
I can continue this blog post going into the details of how vital (directly or indirectly) to all of our bio-chemical and metabolic processes and our physical and mental health…but I might get carried away …so if you fancy reading some more on the effect of iron deficiencies you can check out this article by Benson et al. or this article on the genesis of Iron dosing by by Sheftel et al.
To sum up - optimum iron levels are vital and too often people with vulvas and birthing parents Iron status are underestimated.
Typically, you are tired (you might even be noticing some food cravings, insomnia, hair loss any and all of the above) and you have been for a while so you go and get checked-up at your medical provider…they run bloods and they hopefully tell you that all is good and bloods came back “normal” so nothing to worry about and nothing do to…
What most do not know is that what traditional western medicine considers “normal range” is based on beginning of the century research conducted on Caucasian people with penisis. So you can very well be clinically anaemic by western medicine standards and still bearing the brunt of an iron deficiency (what the “norm is” vs what your body really needs)…
So in 2022 I would like to invite you to:
check with your medical practitioner that your Iron, Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC), Iron Saturation and Ferritin levels are in the upper limit of what is recommended in your region of the world to ensure optimal health body and mind;
if those levels are not achieved, please talk to your medical practitioner/functional health expert in order to see how you can best supplement your body’s iron needs; and
finally, maybe you can increase your intake of offal (if you are a meat eater), beans or dark greens such as spinach or broccoli…
So let’s give your Iron levels some attention this year for optimal health!
