Category: Sleep

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Let’s Talk About Iron Deficiency…

Iron deficiency is a worldwide problem…

According to the World Health Organization up to 80% of the world’s population suffers from iron deficiency. Iron is a critical mineral for the mind and body, involved in everything from keeping us feeling energized and maintaining our immune systems to helping provide restorative sleep and brain power.

What are the signs of iron deficiency?

– If you have ever shared a bed with your child and noticed a helicopter like movement in their sleeping position, (fall asleep side by side and by midnight they are perpendicular to you) low iron status could be the culprit. 
– Or maybe you notice when you are sleeping and find yourself tossing and turning, a key sign of restless leg syndrome. 
– Low iron status is also associated with poor focus and learning in kids, especially in subjects that require more concentration and brain power such as math. 
– Anxiety and depression can also be a sign of poor iron status, since iron is required by our bodies to make dopamine, a neurotransmitter critical for anxiety modulation

What do do if you suspect an iron deficiency…

– Check ferritin level via a blood test (ferritin is the protein that reflects storage levels of iron in the body) 
– Vary food sources as much as possible
– Supplement only if deficiency is discovered via lab test. Excess Iron is toxic – iron supplements should only be taken under the supervision of a qualified and licensed health care practitioner. 

Food first approach…

As with all nutrient deficiencies, a food first approach is always best. Work with a licensed health practitioner such as a registered dietitian nutritionist to assess your current status and recommend specific modifications to your eating patterns to ensure you have a balanced intake of heme and non heme iron sources as well as maximize absorption. Click here if you would like to schedule a complimentary 15 minute consultation to learn how a food first approach can help address your iron deficiency concerns whether they be poor energy, immune function, attention, focus, mood, anxiety and sleep.

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How Does Food Effect Sleep?

And how does sleep effect nutrition? What is the connection and why does it matter? 

Research suggests that our circadian rhythm plays an important role in digestive physiology. When we don’t honor the natural cycle our bodies are meant to follow on an evolutionary basis (eating during daylight hours vs late night and sleeping on a diurnal, nocturnal schedule) we can end up with suboptimal digestion plus disturbances in sleep patterns, potentially causing alterations in the gut microbiome that over time can even lead to digestive disorders such as IBS and IBD. 

Human studies have demonstrated that lifestyles associated with later bed times night are associated with lower levels of melotonin production, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. And when we wake up after a poor night of sleep, this has a downstream effect on our body’s ability to balance blood glucose levels (impacting mood, energy, cravings) as well as hormones involved in the metabolic processing of food and appetite regulation (ghrelin and leptin). 

If you have kids involved in sports after school you know first hand that by the time the games and practices are over, and you are home trying to make dinner, its well into the evening and you are lucky to have a hot family meal on the table before 8pm. 

So what to do? Try earlier meals whenever possible to sync with the body’s natural prime time for digestion. Putting a soup or stew together in the slow cooker or instant pot can help reduce the time spent preparing meals after a long day and speed up serving a nutrient dense dinner. Also encourage kids/family members to eat more nutrient and energy dense foods earlier in the day – this will be easier on digestion since it is aligned with circadian rhythms and lead to better quality sleep. It can be a vicious cycle with late night meals/poor sleep quality/compromised digestion- but one that can be fixed with a proactive approach, grounded in knowledge on WHY it matters!