Amanda Roberts aroberts42@live.com MOST people realize that their diet will change when they move to a new country, but changing your diet can mean a lot more than just adjusting your intake of fats, salts, or sugars. A drastic change in your diet could also mean a dramatic change in your consumption of various vitamins and minerals. One deficiency that can negatively influence other areas of your life is iron deficiency. Iron is necessary for producing hemoglobin, a protein that helps your blood deliver oxygen around your body. So if your iron is low, every part of your body is affected. If you are an expat, you have most likely experienced a significant change in the amount of iron you are getting when your diet changed. If you have noticed any of the following symptoms, you might be suffering from iron deficiency. 1) Exhaustion is the most common symptom of iron deficiency, but many things can cause exhaustion, so it can be difficult to blame this symptom solely on iron deficiency. 2) For expats, locals gushing over your pale skin might seem like a compliment, but being exceptionally pale could mean you have an iron deficiency. If you have noticed that your skin (even the inside of your lips, lower eyelids, or your gums) seems paler than before, you might be iron deficient. The same is true if your tongue is sore, swollen, or oddly smooth. 3) For women, if you have noticed an increase in the flow of your period, you might have iron deficiency. If you have to change a tampon more often than every two hours, talk to a doctor. 4) If you seem to get winded more often since moving to China, you might be iron deficient. Breathing harder when exerting yourself is normal, but if you now get short of breath doing normal activities, you are probably iron deficient. Similarly, a rapid heartbeat can be normal if you are exerting yourself, but a rapid heartbeat during normal activities might be cause to see a doctor. 5) Headaches can be caused by many things, but since an iron deficient body has trouble getting oxygen to the brain, iron deficiency can cause headaches. 6) Do your legs constantly fidget? Restless leg syndrome is a symptom of iron deficiency. The lower the iron levels, the more the feet and legs shake. 7) Do you have high anxiety? While living overseas does come with a lot of stress, iron deficiency can magnify the problem. Lack of oxygen in the blood activates your sympathic nervous system, so while you might have a few small reasons to fret, an iron deficiency can make a small thing seem like a catastrophe. 8) If your hair is falling out, you might have an iron deficiency. A few stray hairs is nothing to worry about, but if you are losing large amounts of hair in the shower or have a noticeable thinning when looking in the bathroom mirror, take note. Hair loss could also be the result of a calcium deficiency, another common issue for expats in China. So what do you do if you have an iron deficiency? First, find out how much you need. Children and men need about the same amount of iron, 8 mg each day. Once girls hit puberty, though, their needs change. Women from 14-50 need 18 mg of iron daily because they lose so much blood every month when they menstruate. When they are pregnant, this number jumps up to 27 mg a day. While breastfeeding and after menopause, though, women only need the same amount as men, just 8 mg each day. You can easily get 8 mg of iron by taking a daily supplement (never give iron supplements to children!) or by eating a single serving of iron-rich foods, such as cherries, cereals, dried fruit, beans, spinach, beef, chicken, or chickpeas. WATCH OUT FOR THE SIGNS! Exhaustion Hair falling out Paler skin, a sore, swollen, or oddly smooth tongue Shaking feet and legs Headache High anxiety Increased flow during period Short of breath | 