Study, 2021
Does an iron supplement with vitamin C help women with severe iron deficiency?
Yes. Hemoglobin increased from 7.577 gm/dl to 11.022 gm/dl and protein increased from 10.056 mg/ml to 27.138 mg/ml over 90 days of treatment.
What they did
50 premenstrual women with severe iron deficiency were given iron with vitamin C in tablet form three times daily for 90 days. Hemoglobin and protein levels were measured at baseline and after 1, 2, and 3 months.
What they found
Hemoglobin increased from 7.577 gm/dl to 11.022 gm/dl. Protein level increased from 10.056 mg/ml to 27.138 mg/ml. Common side effects included dark discoloration of stool in 54% of women, nausea in 6%, decreased appetite in 2%, and diarrhea in 2%.
What it means for you
Iron supplementation with vitamin C effectively increased hemoglobin and protein levels in women with severe iron deficiency. This study treated a blood condition rather than premenstrual syndrome symptoms directly. The main limitation is that there was no untreated comparison group to confirm the improvements came from the treatment.
50
Women treated
90
Days of treatment
54%
Dark stools (side effect)
About the study
- Original title
- THE EFFECTIVENESS AND PROTECTION OF VERBAL FERRUGINOUS ASCORBATE IN PREMENSTRUAL FEMALES WITH EXTREME IRON INSUFFICIENCY ETIOLATED
- Authors
- Muhammad Talal
- Journal
- Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
- Year
- 2021
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 50
- What was tested
- Iron with vitamin C supplement, one tablet three times daily for 90 days
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4434209