The World Health Organization reports iron deficiency anemia as the most common nutritional disorder in the world, affecting over 30 percent of the world's population. Iron deficiency anemia causes fatigue and weakness that can interrupt your ability to attend school or perform at work. Iron deficiency in children interferes with cognitive and social development. If you cannot increase your iron level through eating a healthy diet, taking elemental iron supplements may provide benefits but can also cause adverse reactions, so they should only be taken under a doctor's supervision.
Who Needs Supplements?
The Institute of Medicine recommends adult men and premenopausal women take 8 mg of iron per day while women of child-bearing age consume at least 18 mg of iron per day. Because women lose blood each month during the menstrual cycle, they have an increased risk of needing iron supplements. Your body can more readily absorb and use the iron found in meat than the type of iron found in vegetables. For this reason, vegetarians may require iron supplements. If you suffer from a digestive disease that interferes with the absorption of nutrients, like Crohn's disease or celiac disease, you may also become iron deficient and need iron supplements. The increase in blood volume to support a developing fetus also increases your need for added iron. Your doctor may prescribe iron supplements if your serum ferritin level, which measures the iron stores in your body, measures 15 mcg or less, according to the National Institute of Health Office of Dietary Supplements.
Elemental Iron
Two main types of iron supplements to choose from are ferrous supplements or ferric supplements. Your body absorbs ferrous supplements, like ferrous fumarate, ferrous sulfate or ferrous gluconate. The amount of elemental iron in a supplement describes the amount of iron available for absorption. A 300 mg tablet of ferrous sulfate contains approximately 50 to 60 mg of elemental iron, making it 20 percent elemental iron. Ferrous fumarate contains the highest level of elemental iron, with 33 percent. The higher the percentage of elemental iron, the more likely you will experience adverse effects.
Side Effects
Due to the risk for iron overload and toxicity, only take iron supplements under the supervision of your doctor. Therapeutic doses of elemental iron can cause gastrointestinal disturbances like nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, dark stool and abdominal pain. To decrease the occurrence of adverse effects, take a lower dose at the beginning and gradually work your way up to the dose recommended by your doctors. In addition, you should take your iron supplements in three equally spaced doses for maximum absorption.
Toxicity
Too much iron in your blood can also cause adverse effects. A high level of iron causes it to accumulate in your organs, including the liver and the heart. Over time this can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, characterized by a buildup of scar tissue, which interferes with normal liver function or heart failure. Keep elemental iron supplements out of reach of children. An accidental overdose of iron supplements is the leading cause of poisoning fatalities in children under the age of 6, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.
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