Blue sclera and iron deficiency: What you need to know

blue sclera and iron deficiency

Blue sclera is a common sign of iron deficiency in children and adults. It is characterized by a blue-tinted appearance of the sclera of the eye. The sclera is the fibrous, white tissue that covers the eyeball. It extends from the cornea to the optic nerves in the back of the eye (see illustration below). … Read more

High B12, folate and cancer risk: What you need to know

vitamin B12, folate and cancer risk

Medical experts for long believed that vitamin B12 (cobalamin) and folate supplementation helped prevent cancer and that they were safe even at high doses. However, recent studies suggested that high B12 and folate blood levels may be associated with increased cancer risk. This article reviews 12 studies that investigated the effects of high-dose B12-folate supplementation and … Read more

B12 deficiency symptoms: Early warning signs in tongue and skin you need to know

vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms tongue

This article covers everything you need to know about the early warning signs and symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency and pernicious anemia in the tongue, skin, nails, and hair. Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, is a complex water-soluble vitamin produced by anaerobic microbes, such as Pseudomonas denitrificans, Propionibacterium freudenreichii, and aerobic microbes, such as Bacillus megaterium … Read more

43 herbs high in iron: How to boost nonheme absorption 

Herbs high in iron include basil leaves

This article walks you through a list of herbs and spices high in iron that may play a role in preventing or treating iron deficiency anemia.  Our list includes medicinal herbs and herbal teas that may help raise your iron levels. The iron content of herbs and spices has low bioavailability compared with animal sources. Low … Read more

Iron deficiency symptoms: Strange cravings, including pica (What you need to know)

strange cravings and pica

Strange cravings (such as pica), obsessive-compulsive behavioral patterns, emotional and psychiatric disorders are among many signs and symptoms of iron deficiency. Iron deficiency occurs when you don’t have enough of the essential mineral to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that helps distribute oxygen from the lungs to tissues and organs. Strange cravings, … Read more

57 pernicious anemia and vit B12 deficiency symptoms you need to know

Pernicious anemia and vitamin B12 deficiency

You may experience pernicious anemia symptoms when you don’t have enough red blood cells because you are low in vitamin B12. Anemia refers to any condition in which your body does not have enough healthy red blood cells to distribute oxygen from your lungs to target tissues and organs. Anemia may be due to iron, … Read more

31 low iron symptoms: Unusual warning signs you should know

Iron helps to make red blood cells

Low iron symptoms occur when you are not getting enough of the essential mineral to make hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells (erythrocytes) that binds with oxygen during transportation from the lungs to various body tissues and organs. When left untreated, iron deficiency leads to anemia. Iron deficiency anemia is when you don’t have … Read more

7 low vitamin D symptoms and deficiency signs you need to know

A bottle of vitamin D supplements

Low vitamin D symptoms are common among people living in high latitude regions of the world. If you live at latitudes above 37 degrees north, you are at a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency than people living in places closer to the equator. Vitamin D is called the “sunshine vitamin” because the skin can … Read more