Imagine feeling constantly exhausted, with a lack of energy and noticing your nails breaking more easily than usual. Sometimes these common symptoms aren’t due to a busy lifestyle or stressful week, they can be linked to an essential nutrient that your body needs: iron.
Iron is an essential mineral, meaning your body cannot produce it on its own. It must be obtained from your diet or supplements. Iron deficiency occurs when there's not enough iron in your body. It's also the most common nutritional disorder in the world [1].
Common causes of iron deficiency:
- Inadequate dietary intake: e.g. vegetarians, vegans, adolescents and toddlers.
- Increased iron requirements: e.g. pregnancy, breastfeeding or times of rapid growth - infants and adolescents.
- Reduced iron absorption: e.g. coeliac disease or inflammatory bowel disease.
- Reduced iron absorption: e.g. menstruation, blood donation, haemorrhage or gastrointestinal causes like stomach or colorectal cancer.
Tips for managing iron deficiency [2]:
Boost your dietary iron intake
People prone to iron deficiency should aim to increase their intake of dietary iron to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Understand the types of iron
• Haem iron is absorbed five times more easily than non-haem iron. Haem iron can be obtained from meat, fish and poultry.
• Non-haem sources of iron include leafy green vegetables, iron fortified foods (e.g. cereals), dried fruit, beans, lentils, eggs, nuts and wholemeal breads.
Cooking vegetables
cooking vegetables can increase the absorption of non-haem iron. For example, the body absorbs around 6% of the iron from raw broccoli, but this increases to 30% for cooked broccoli.
Include Vitamin C
Vitamin C can enhance the absorption of iron when consumed at the same time. Good sources of Vitamin C include citrus fruits, kiwifruit, tomatoes, capsicums, strawberries, broccoli, cabbage and spinach.
Supplements for prevention and treatment
Ferrogen Iron + Vitamin C tablets offer a convenient solution. Formulated for prevention and treatment, Ferrogen Iron + Vitamin C contains one of the highest amounts of elemental iron (105 mg) available over the counter. The addition of Vitamin C in Ferrogen helps enhance iron absorption, and the modified release formulation has less risk of constipation.*
Avoid
People with medically diagnosed iron deficiency anaemia should avoid drinking teas or coffee with meals as this reduces iron absorption.
If you’re interested in learning more about managing an iron deficiency, chat to your local Blooms The Chemist team for expert advice and product recommendations.
ALWAYS READ THE LABEL AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS FOR USE.
For use when you have been diagnosed as iron deficient and your doctor has recommended a therapeutic oral iron supplement *vs. non-modified release ferrous sulfate. Santiago P. Scientific World Journal 2012: 846824
References:
- Health Direct - Iron Deficiency. Available at: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/iron-deficiency. Accessed on October 2025.
- Ferrogen - Tips for Self Management. Available at: https://ferrogen.com.au/tips/. Accessed on October 2025.