Iron is most often associated with anemia when it is low, but it is one of the most critical elements necessary for all life on the plane. Fully one-third of the world's population suffers from iron deficiency. The rate jumps to 2/3 in developing areas. Iron overload (too much iron in the body), which is also called hemochromatosis, is also quite common and is associated with a long list of pathologies and diseases, including early death. The problem with detecting undesirable iron levels lies in the fact that most doctors don't order the correct tests. The tests that they do order have lab value ranges that allow problematic levels to go undetected. The post will address the correct tests your doctor should order to correctly identify problems with your iron levels.
Read MoreVitamin B12 deficiency is way more common than most conventional physicians are willing to admit. The literature states that only 7% of the population is deficient, but t the current limit of 200 ng/ml is probably too low. Neurological symptoms can be experienced in the low-normal range, and western medicine ignores this fact. Using functional medicine standards, which are higher, nearly half of the population may be suffering from B12 deficiency. Data from the Tufts University Framingham Offspring Study suggests that 40 percent of people between 26 and 83 have plasma B12 levels in the low-normal range. Most surprising to the researchers was that low B12 levels were as common in younger people as in the elderly. This is alarming as children suffer irreparable neurological damage with chronic B12 deficiency. Today I would like to talk about B12 deficiency and how to avoid it.
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