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Fatigue that won’t quit, hair that won’t grow, legs that won’t rest at night, and a lab report that says everything is “normal” can leave you feeling stuck. We go back to where this podcast started and make the case for looking deeper, starting with iron stores and the ferritin test, not just a basic blood count.

Speaking of Women's Health Podcast host Dr. Holly Thacker walks through why iron deficiency is so common across the female life cycle, from menstruation and pregnancy to blood donation and low-iron diets, and the signs that deserve attention before anemia becomes obvious. She also talks about the mistakes that delay real answers, like assuming low iron is always “just heavy periods,” especially for women over 40 who may need evaluation for occult gastrointestinal blood loss. That includes important red flags and why colon cancer screening guidance has shifted earlier.

You’ll also get practical, food-first tactics to improve iron absorption, including pairing plant-based iron with vitamin C, and a surprisingly useful kitchen tip: cooking beans, lentils, and grains with garlic and onions to boost bioaccessibility. We connect iron to constipation too, covering safer approaches, why some over-the-counter stimulant laxatives can backfire, and when chronic constipation requires a specialist workup. We close with nuance on high ferritin, inflammation, hemochromatosis, and how to think about supplement quality and safety.

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