Why are low iron levels so common?

•  Mainly because we nowadays eat less of a diet that contains less of iron-rich meat courses than our voracious and hard-working ancestors.

•  We also have a different beauty concept today with a thin body as the ideal and thus less energy-and mineral-rich food is consumed.

•  Women who menstruate for three days or more therefore almost always need a supplement of iron to compensate for the blood loss.

•  Other risk groups are athletes, growing youngsters, the pregnant and lactaAng.

•  Grown men rarely suffer from iron deficiency.

What happens when the iron levels are low?

•  You may get Ared, have concentraAon problems, bad hair and nails and feel generally weak. Low iron count has also been shown to have a negaAve impact on the learning ability as well as the physical ability.

•  Iron status of the pregnant and those who plan pregnancy has an effect on the weight of the foetus. Even to such a degree that it affects the health status of a person during the whole lifeAme. Also the uptake of cadmium is increased, which may lead to osteoporosis.

What forms of digesAble iron are there?

•  The elemental iron is called organic or heme iron when it is bound to the proteins hemoglobin or myoglobin, as is the case in meat courses.

•  All other forms of iron are inorganic or non-heme and this is when the iron molecule is chelated or bound to for instance salts (as in vegetables) starch, citrates or other chemical compunds.

•  Our bodies can uAlize both forms, but heme iron is vastly superior both in intake and tolerance.

How is the iron stored in the body?

•  Iron is stored, mostly in the liver, as ferriAn or hemosiderin. In a blood test the Hb-value tells how much iron in the form of hemoglobin the body has available for transporAng oxygen to the cells. The ferriAn count is used to measure stored iron.

•  The liver's stores of ferriAn are the primary physiologic source of reserve iron in the body.

•  Iron deficiency first affects the storage iron in the body. Since iron is primarily required for hemoglobin, iron deficiency anemia is the primary clinical manifestaAon of iron deficiency.

What affects the uptake?

•  Coffee, tea, milk and whole-grain bread have a lessening effect on iron uptake, while Vitamin C, for instance in orange juice, has a posiAve effect.

•  The heme iron in meat courses is being absorbed through a separate mechanism and is pracAcally uninfluenced by what is eaten at the same Ame.

•  The calcium in milk products is however regarded as having a generally lessening effect on iron uptake.

•  The uptake of heme iron is not affected by simultaneously ingested food, drink or medicaAon, since it follows a different and separate parallel uptake mechanism.

Can you get too much iron?

•  Yes, if you for instance suffer from the rare and hereditary disease of hemochromatose or if you suddenly are exposed to huge doses. The poisoning dose is considered to be 20 mg or more iron per kilo of body weight. The result is primarily nausea, but it may also be dangerous. This is the reason that iron supplements should always be kept out of reach for children.

•  From Heme-Iron only what is needed is absorbed. The rest remains inert in the gut, as opposed to non-heme iron, which leaves the not-absorbed part as toxic and reacAve free iron ions in the stomach causing gastro-intesAnal side-effects.. The efficacy of heme iron is so good, that a small dose is all that’s needed for iron replacement..

I understand that the source for heme iron is bovine blood from the food industry. What about BSE and such?

•  There is no BSE within the EU any longer and cerAficaAon is very strict. Today this is not even theoreAcally a problem.

Heme iron is an organic product based on bovine hemoglobin. Is it safe?

•  Heme iron tablet supplements have been in use in Scandinavia for more than 30 years. There has been no cases of serious side-effects or poisonings reported a^er use by literally millions.

•  The raw material is pharma-grade and comes with all necessary cerAficaAon

The OpAFer® tablets contain only 18 mgs of iron. Is this enough?

•  The first heme supplements had to be augmented by adding non-heme iron to reach therapy dose.

•  Today a new raw material has been developed. All the iron in the OpAFer-series of products is heme iron.

•  Since hemoglobin iron is so well absorbed, the efficacy means that the dose easily can compete with non-heme products with 50 mg or more per dose.

(see “Iron supplementaAon in pregnancy: is less enough”, Eskeland et al.

Acta Obstet Gyn Scand 76 1997)

Is the raw material, being organic, very sensiAve?

•  The dried raw material powder when used as a in tablets is totally inert over Ame and not suscepAble to any disturbance.

•  The product withstands Ame and heat and since the tablets are packed in airAght blister charts.

•  Supplement/Food legislaAon however implies a best-before date, usually two or three years from date of manufacture.

Is there an upper limit to raw material availability?

•  The food industry is well equipped to produce much more raw material than needed for supplement tablets.

•  There will not be a shortage of hemoglobin raw material.

How safe is heme iron? What do we know historically?

•  No serious side-effects or poisonings have ever been reported even a^er massive use since introducAon in Scandinavia in the 1970-ies.

•  In clinical studies the raAo of side-effects is placebo level (lowest possible). It is very unlikely for poisoning to occur with the low doses in heme iron tablets.

Are there other forms of heme iron and why is natural bovine important?

Heme Iron PolypepAde, is fabricated by denaturing natural proteins or by using proteolyAc enzymes It is listed to have as common side-effects gastro-intesAnal problems such as upset stomach, gas, diarrhea or consApaAon. Also, “Heme iron polypepAde may cause your urine or stools to turn a reddish-brown or dark color” In clinical studies natural heme iron preparaAons such as OpAFer® are reported to have the side-effects levels of placebo products.

A total of 135 drugs (706 brand and generic names) are known to interact with heme iron polypepAde. (hlps://www.drugs.com/drug-interacAons/heme-iron-polypepAde.html)

Heme iron has no known interacAons with medicaAon, food or drink.

How does natural hemoglobin uptake compare with other forms of heme iron?

Heme iron is very efficient and is taken up between 20 – 40 %. Non-heme iron is taken up only at 2 – 4 % Hallberg, L., Hulthén, L. & Gramatkovski, E. 1997. Iron absorpAon from the whole diet in men: how effecAve is the regulaAon of iron absorpAon? Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 66: 347-56.

"Proferrin® (heme iron polypepAde) performance studies indicate that iron absorpAon rates are between 15% and 20% " (hlp: www.irondisorders.org/supplements)

What about religious concerns, such as halal or kosher.

•  The OpAFer®products contains material derived from bovine hemoglobin, which can be a sensiAve issue.

•  However, when used purely as a medical supplement for a situaAon which can be fatal, it is therefore of no religious concern. (religious authority imam Mohammed Saieed Waezi)

The OpAFer® Series of Heme-Iron supplements easily correct moderate to low iron values.

OpAFer® products are very effecAve but will not give unpleasant side effects