Carlson Chew-Iron

Iron is critical for keeping the blood healthy; however, bioavailability in supplements can be a challenge. Ideally, supplemental iron would be delivered in a chelated state, similar to that found in nature.

Iron is an essential mineral found in an array of foods, including meat, poultry and fish, dried fruits, some grains and leafy green vegetables. The body uses iron to produce hemoglobin, which increases the oxygen-carrying ability of the red blood cells. If the body doesnt get enough iron, or cant absorb the iron it does receive, there is a serious risk of developing iron deficiency anemia, with symptoms including fatigue, poor lung function or shortness of breath, and poor tolerance of exertion.

Iron deficiency is often seen in menstruating women, during pregnancy and in children. Iron deficiency in pregnancy has been associated with pre-term delivery or having an infant with low birth-weight.

As a result, these infants are vulnerable to many potentially serious and lifelong health problems.

In infants and young toddlers, iron deficiency can lead to developmental delays and behavioral problems. If the deficiency is not corrected quickly the problems can be permanent. Because of this, i ron supplement s are routinely prescribed for pregnant women and for young children.

Today, low iron levels are also common in people who take acid blocking drugs to ease heartburn. In older people, iron supplement s address anemia, but have also been found to be helpful for the cough associated with the use of the blood pressure drugs in the angiotensin-converting enzyme family, known as ACE inhibitors.

But conventional iron supplements can be hard for the body to tolerate, leading to gastrointestinal (GI) distress, including constipation and stomach pains. In addition, excess intake of iron can stress the GI system, impair uptake of other essential minerals, and contribute to a higher state of oxidative stress. And it can be toxic, as the most common childhood poisoning from supplements is attributed to excess iron, which has led to requirements that all iron supplements have child protective packaging.

To address these challenges, Albion Advanced Nutrition used its patented processeswhich provide totally-reacted, nutritionally functional amino acid chelatesto develop Ferrochel® ferrous bis-glycinatechelate. Ferrochel is a compound made of an iron molecule at tached(chelated) to pure amino-acids, with bioavailability of more than 4 0 percentcomparable to that of heme iron.

A study in Nutrition Reviews noted: The advantage of using ferrous bis-glycinate as an iron fortific antis its much higher absorption from foods high in iron absorpt ion inhibitors . It is also possible, but not known, that amino acid chelates of iron cause les s inhibition of the absorption of other minerals such as zinc.

Carlson uses Albions organic chelated mineral s in a range of formulations, and al so provides several individual chelated minerals.

Carlson Chew-Iron supplies 27 mg of iron from 135 mg iron glycinate chelate (Ferrochel) in a tasty, grape, chewable tablet. The daily dose provides an efficacious amount of iron in a gentle form with minimal adverse effects.