Fuzzy Thinking Ironed Out

By Kathy Summers

If your thinking is fuzzy, your multi-tasking muddled, and you don’t know where you left your cell phone, it may be time to boost your iron intake. A clear and quick mind needs adequate iron as much as muscles and other body parts.

Even a small deficiency can significantly impair concentration and memory, says a Penn State University study presented at the Experimental Biology meeting in Washington, DC (April 2004). In the study, women with sufficient iron levels easily surpassed anemic women in every mental category tested—attention, memory, and learning. Lack of iron can also lead to breathlessness, fatigue, poor physical endurance, impaired immune response, temperature regulation difficulties, and changes in energy metabolism.

Recent federal surveys say between eight and 10 million Americans are iron deficient, particularly 18- to 35-year-old women. Women with heavy periods are particularly at risk. The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for iron is 18 mg for women and 8 mg for men, but check with your doctor before taking supplements. The National Institutes of Health recommends trying to get enough iron from your diet.

Boost your iron level

• Iron-rich foods include red meat, poultry, fish, and seafood.

• Eat beans, leafy green vegetables, and iron-fortified grains and cereals for good vegetarian sources.

• Vitamin C helps with iron absorption, so try washing down iron-rich foods with orange juice.

• The tannins in tea can interfere with iron absorption, so avoid drinking tea with iron-rich foods.