Is there a limit as to how much iron you should get in one day? Some supplements are 150%. Some are 250%. And some are 300+. If you're eating iron-rich foods, how much is too much? Does it matter? Can you get 1000% from your diet, too? Should you keep it low since you're on a supplement?

Some people can eat all the right foods, including iron rich foods and still be low in iron. It really all depends on what is causing the iron defficiency in the first place.

I used to think it was simply a matter of popping some iron tablets and all would fix itself, but that is very far from the truth for quite a lot of people.

I began by buying an over the counter liquid iron formula and took it according to the directions. Later when i began visiting my current dr he stated i could quite easily triple the dosage suggested. I think a lot of those over counter supplements quote dosage amounts for people who might be temporarily low, so they cant quote too high a dosage incase it affects the person negatively, whereas those who are anemic or very low in iron can actually take quite high amounts. I don't think you can simply look at how many grams of iron you are taking, it's the quality or type of iron being taken. I'm on 180mg of iron per day and that is from taking 3 teaspoons of iron powder, plus 4 iron phosphate tablets per day. Now when you look at some other iron supplements you buy over the counter, you might have to take half the container to get a days dosage. This is why its best to discuss dosages with your chemist or better still your doctor.

Not all the iron you eat via iron rich foods will get absorbed 100%, certain foods will cancel out some of the iron and it wont absorb totally. Even when you take supplements, not the entire 100% dosage will get absorbed. Certain supplements shouldn't be taken in conjunction with each other eg: taking iron and zinc at same time isn't good as zinc tends to cancel out iron, so you need to take them far apart.

Besides getting your ferretin levels checked out it is a good idea to get some other things tested eg: B12, zinc, thyroid, vitamin d, liver function test, gluten intolerance test and in my personal case i'm very low in iodine which affects the thyroid and thyroid can also be thrown out by long term low iron. So you see it's all very complex and everything seems to affect everything else.

Hope this helps to answer some of your questions.

Audrey-Just reading through past posts. Once again you have provided great info. esp about the various vitamins, minerals, problems with taking iron and zinc together( I didn't know this) etc. Where do you get this information? Is it a multitude of sources and alot of internet searching on everything you take or is there some central resource that you rely on ? It is all so confusing to me. I think that I am constantly cancelling out what I supplemented by what I ate before or by the several supplements I take together.And, I need to take calcium so there is another problem because calcium taken near for example iron or thyroid med will diminish both. It is difficult.

Osteoblast- some things i have learnt from the healthboards via other people's experiences, but a lot i have learnt from the Trichologist who i began seeing earlier this year about my hair shedding. He has been a wealth of information. He doesnt simply tell me to take something, he tells me why i should take it, when to take it, why i have to take it at that particular time, how things interact with each other. He will spend as much time as is needed with each patient and schedules one hour appointments so that there is no rush, gives you pen/paper so you can make notes, will happily discuss any issues over the phone with you for free at a later date if you happen to remember something or have questions. He works with patients, but he also teaches and talks at seminars overseas. I believe he goes to the States regularly too. You can read up some of his information which he has freely available on the net. His name is Tony Pearce and if you add in Trichologist you should find him easily on the net.

Not sure if you read my new post on my latest test results as he has found a couple of other issues this time round in the particular tests he had done. Now i'm on even more things, but i guess its all for some good.