Very LOW Iron , Sufficient Ferritin, Excesivelly high vitamin B12 - Anemia or what is going on?

[Doludolu]

Hello,

I just made some blood work. Results: Very LOW Iron , Sufficient Ferritin, Excesivelly high vitamin B12 - Anemia or what is going on?

Ferritin --- 63.07 [30 - 400.00 ug/l ]
Iron --- 6.16* [12.50-32.20 umol/l ]
B12 --- 1348* [145 - 569 pmol/l ]

B12 - been consuming right now beef liver 1 or 2x a week. And taking bioactive B complex (with high B12 , bioactive form), but that's not as important as the Iron & Anemia.

I do have some symptoms of anemia: like poor blood circulation sometimes, sometimes also feeling dizzy, fatigued, cold, but also sometimes I feel great, depends a lot of how my day, activities, nutrition is structured.

I'd say that I'm prone to LOW Blood pressure. Been doing a lot of blood works lately, what I've noticed is also that my immune function seems to be HYPO - my WBC and Neutrophils are usually too low [body fighting infection ?] ... My hand skin has like a rash, quite severe [on fall, winter and even now it gets small cuts, sometimes bloody] --- I always thought it's related to it getting severely cold several years ago, but now I think it's likely a type of eczema/dermatitis/psoriasis , will consult with dermatologist. I do have some gut problems, even though I've been optimizing my Gut health for several years, doing various detoxification protocols, parasite , candida cleanses, fortifying the gut with probiotics, healing leaky gut & etc.

Anyways, WHY would Iron be so low , when I'm consuming plenty iron-rich products ? And ferritin, which is the marker for anemia be in the normal range? What could be the root causes of low Iron ? Do you have any thoughts, tips or something useful for me to move on forward solving this health puzzle ?

Thank you !!!

 

[Consistency]

Vitamin A & D3 deficiency.

Feeling cold is an indication of low thyroid function. Active Vitamin D3 is required to produce thyroid hormones.

WBC and neutrophils ramp up during infection but should be within normal range when not infected and not deficient in Vitamin A & D3.

My WBC was at the max and neutrophils were way over the range when I had covid.

 

[Mito]

https://irondisorders.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Handout-HowdoIknow_Anemia2020.pdf

 

[LizAnn]

High b12 can mean that it’s pooling bc your body isn’t able to absorb it properly.

 

[reality]

High b12 can mean that it’s pooling bc your body isn’t able to absorb it properly.

Which could be B2 deficiency, because b2 is essential for the use of b12

B2 is also needed for iron utilisation, which could be why your iron is low

 

[tankasnowgod]

Hello,

I just made some blood work. Results: Very LOW Iron , Sufficient Ferritin, Excesivelly high vitamin B12 - Anemia or what is going on?

Ferritin --- 63.07 [30 - 400.00 ug/l ]
Iron --- 6.16* [12.50-32.20 umol/l ]
B12 --- 1348* [145 - 569 pmol/l ]

B12 - been consuming right now beef liver 1 or 2x a week. And taking bioactive B complex (with high B12 , bioactive form), but that's not as important as the Iron & Anemia.

I do have some symptoms of anemia: like poor blood circulation sometimes, sometimes also feeling dizzy, fatigued, cold, but also sometimes I feel great, depends a lot of how my day, activities, nutrition is structured.

I'd say that I'm prone to LOW Blood pressure. Been doing a lot of blood works lately, what I've noticed is also that my immune function seems to be HYPO - my WBC and Neutrophils are usually too low [body fighting infection ?] ... My hand skin has like a rash, quite severe [on fall, winter and even now it gets small cuts, sometimes bloody] --- I always thought it's related to it getting severely cold several years ago, but now I think it's likely a type of eczema/dermatitis/psoriasis , will consult with dermatologist. I do have some gut problems, even though I've been optimizing my Gut health for several years, doing various detoxification protocols, parasite , candida cleanses, fortifying the gut with probiotics, healing leaky gut & etc.

Anyways, WHY would Iron be so low , when I'm consuming plenty iron-rich products ? And ferritin, which is the marker for anemia be in the normal range? What could be the root causes of low Iron ? Do you have any thoughts, tips or something useful for me to move on forward solving this health puzzle ?

Thank you !!!

Iron usually refers to Serum Iron. It's the most volatile marker. You can make it fluctuate with the simple act of eating. This is the reason they have you do the test fasting, and also why Ferritin is a better marker of full body iron stores.

Are you really consuming lots of "iron rich" products? The only one you mention is liver, once or twice a week. Most people get a lot of iron in supplemental forms, usually from iron added to bread. If you are avoiding iron fortified foods and iron supplements (which is smart), red meat is going to be your primary source.

Wanna see Serum Iron go up on your next test? Just eat a steak an hour or so before you get your blood drawn. Even having a porterhouse the night before you get your next iron panel might do the same thing.

If you suspect anemia, you really should get hemoglobin checked. There are all sorts of anemias that can happen in the face of high body iron stores, from things like sickle cell, thalassemia, to pernicious anemia. Some are easily treated (ususally with B Vitamins), others are more serious. Only Hemoglobin will really tell you if you're anemic, not ferritin.

 

[Peatness]

Dr Peat thinks elevated b12 is due to endotoxins.

High vitamin B12 levels (yourhealthbase.com)

Dr Lonsdale thinks its due to thiamine deficiency.

Mine has been elevated for years but my last test showed a slight reduction. I have reduced starch and supplement thiamine.

Not sure about iron, b2 might be a factor, so could thyroid

 

[Doludolu]

High b12 can mean that it’s pooling bc your body isn’t able to absorb it properly.

Why though?

Which could be B2 deficiency, because b2 is essential for the use of b12

B2 is also needed for iron utilisation, which could be why your iron is low

Thank you. Curious though as I consume plenty of B vitamin rich foods and even a full spectrum bioactive B group vitamin supplement

Iron usually refers to Serum Iron. It's the most volatile marker. You can make it fluctuate with the simple act of eating. This is the reason they have you do the test fasting, and also why Ferritin is a better marker of full body iron stores.

Are you really consuming lots of "iron rich" products? The only one you mention is liver, once or twice a week. Most people get a lot of iron in supplemental forms, usually from iron added to bread. If you are avoiding iron fortified foods and iron supplements (which is smart), red meat is going to be your primary source.

Wanna see Serum Iron go up on your next test? Just eat a steak an hour or so before you get your blood drawn. Even having a porterhouse the night before you get your next iron panel might do the same thing.

If you suspect anemia, you really should get hemoglobin checked. There are all sorts of anemias that can happen in the face of high body iron stores, from things like sickle cell, thalassemia, to pernicious anemia. Some are easily treated (ususally with B Vitamins), others are more serious. Only Hemoglobin will really tell you if you're anemic, not ferritin.

Thanks. I am consuming iron rich foods almost every day there's meat, eggs 1-2x a week, liver 1-2x a week, I don't drink coffee everyday which reduces iron absorption, introducing now more nonheme iron foods back again [coming back from Keto/Carni experiment 2+ months, which was really HIGH in IRON so that's really weird] , so also more vit C in the diet, I sometimes cook in cast iron pan, , anyway it should be high or the absorption is really diminished (leaky gut/inflammation), perhaps there's some kind of infection which eats out the iron ?

Hemoglobin on the test was **123.00 [130.00 - 165.00]

I shall check on the sickle cell, pernicious anemia & thalassemia or if you want you can add some basic information on those.

Dr Peat thinks elevated b12 is due to endotoxins.

High vitamin B12 levels (yourhealthbase.com)

Dr Lonsdale thinks its due to thiamine deficiency.

Mine has been elevated for years but my last test showed a slight reduction. I have reduced starch and supplement thiamine.

Not sure about iron, b2 might be a factor, so could thyroid

Interesting point on the B12 & Endotoxin connection, could really be a thing, thank you.

Well, I supplement bioactive B vitamins and my diet is rich in iron , so that could be excluded. Thanks anyways!

 

[Korven]

Thanks. I am consuming iron rich foods almost every day there's meat, eggs 1-2x a week, liver 1-2x a week, I don't drink coffee everyday which reduces iron absorption, introducing now more nonheme iron foods back again [coming back from Keto/Carni experiment 2+ months, which was really HIGH in IRON so that's really weird] , so also more vit C in the diet, I sometimes cook in cast iron pan, , anyway it should be high or the absorption is really diminished (leaky gut/inflammation), perhaps there's some kind of infection which eats out the iron ?

Hemoglobin on the test was **123.00 [130.00 - 165.00]

If you've been carnivore for a while, eating mainly red meat (?), it's possible you have low iron/anemia due to deficiencies in stuff like copper, vitamin A, folate, riboflavin, vitamin C. This is seen in Inuits that eat tons of meat but still have "paradoxical" anemia The paradox of anemia with high meat intake: a review of the multifactorial etiology of anemia in the Inuit of North America - PubMed.

Another explanation would be gut inflammation/infection/SIBO and malabsorption issues.

 

[Doludolu]

If you've been carnivore for a while, eating mainly red meat (?), it's possible you have low iron/anemia due to deficiencies in stuff like copper, vitamin A, folate, riboflavin, vitamin C. This is seen in Inuits that eat tons of meat but still have "paradoxical" anemia The paradox of anemia with high meat intake: a review of the multifactorial etiology of anemia in the Inuit of North America - PubMed.

Another explanation would be gut inflammation/infection/SIBO and malabsorption issues.

It was about 1,5 months of Keto, followed up by 2 weeks of Carnivore. On Keto there was plenty of fresh veggies, vitamin C and fresh squezzed lemon juice. I'm consuming bioactive B group vitamins. On copper & Vit A -- liver was consumed quite in decent portions.

But my hemoglobin was low on most type of diets recent years.

For me I tend to shift toward the gut inflammation, infection route which creates the dysbiosis and malabsorption issues or also eats off a lot of the iron stores. Thanks brother!