Thanks to important advances in laboratory testing, iron deficiency now can be detected before anemia actually develops. This kind of early detection constitutes a major breakthrough, as it allows nutritional problems to be found before they become severe.Although many people have considered “iron deficiency” to be synonomous with anemia, these new tests enable us to make a valuable distinction between the two terms. Iron deficiency refers to the state before the development of the low hemoglobin or hematocrit readings that indicate anemia. In this preanemic stage, the body has too little iron stored away but has not yet become deficient enough to show signs of anemia. A blood ferritin test will tell whether or not your body has enough iron stored in its “banik account”. Iron-deficiency anemia develops after the body’s bank account of iron is depleted. The hallmarks of anemia are low readings on the hemoglobin or hematocrit blood tests. Obviously, a low score on the blood ferritin test sounds an early alert of impending trouble. It gives you a head start on correcting the problem before it progresses to a full-blown case of anemia. This is the bright side of iron deficiency, if there can be a bright side, that it does not have to lead to anemia. But, on the other hand, this less-severe condition is much more common than outright anemia. |
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