Anemania

One of the more annoying side effects of Celiac disease is anemia, caused by one's difficulty absorbing nutrients like iron and Folate.

Young women who menstruate have a tendency for low iron already, so the fact that mine is a little lower than most wasn't alarming to me. Plus, I always thought anemia was just one of those words people used to get out of gym class. Then I took a look at the symptoms: easy fatigue/loss of energy? Ugh, check. Difficulty concentrating? Check. Headache while exercising? Insomnia? Check and check. Wait, easy fatigue and insomnia? C'mon! Luckily these are only minor symptoms compared to some of the others (Loss of sense of touch? No thank you!).

Still, I didn't really start to do anything about it until I tried to donate blood, a regular activity for me, only to be turned away.

Admitting defeat, I researched foods one can eat to increase the absorption of iron and bought some iron tablets (laughing when I saw the Publix brand had "gluten-free" right on the front of the bottle). As I found out, iron is a tricky little nutrient to keep a-hold of. For one thing, coffee and tea, candy bars, dairy products, ice cream, and soft drinks all interfere with iron absorption, meaning my iron tablet means nothing if I take it while I'm eating any of those things. Alcohol, too, lowers the rate of absorption.

Of course I don't want to feel tired and foggy, but I can't say I've given up dairy products, soft drinks or alcohol as a result. I think forgoing coffee and taking a supplement is a healthy compromise. I feel more clear-headed already.