Iron (vitamins and supplements)?

How do you know if your body is in need of iron ?
I heard from my friend that she sleeps a lot these days, and her doctor said her bodys lack of iron
So.. does sleeping disorder means your body needs iron ?

sry, i meant.. yea she feels sleepy all the time, not having sleepin disorder..

ok! so i'm off to get some iron pills soon :D

what kind of crap doctor said that? i'm in med school and we've covered all that stuff, and that isn't something we were ever tought.

iron is used mostly in making your red blood cells. now, if you don't have enough iron, your cells can't carry enough oxygen, and then you'll feel more sleepy all the time, but one doesn't necesarily mean the other.

if you're really concerned about having low iron, just see your doctor and they'll do a simple test. but it's usually pretty rare for boys to have low iron, since they don't bleed for a week every month.

NO, that alone means that you may be tired! If you have a normal diet, with plenty of green vegatables, you probably do not need iron. If you eat red meat, you probably do not need iron. What, to you, is a sleeping disorder??? If you want to take a nap occasionally, that is not a disorder...that is TIRED. Good luck

Fatigue is indeed one of the common symptoms of iron deficiency anemia. Basically, if you don't have enough iron, your body can't make enough red blood cells to carry oxygen to your tissues. Iron deficiency is much more common in women because we menstruate and have to replace the lost blood every month. Dietary iron can be found in meats and some vegetables, but there are several pill forms that can be found in drugstores. Iron pills should be taken with food because it can irritate the stomach, and because you'll absorb more of the supplement that way. However, dairy products and the tannins in tea actually decrease your absorption of iron. To increase your absorption, you can take the pills with vitamin C, found in orange juice. Also, one small problem with iron supplements is that they can cause constipation so be sure to take in plenty of fiber, found in whole grains.