Historically meat courses have been the main and most important dietary provider of iron for humans. An iron-poor diet may be the reason for anaemia outside of increased need for iron because of blood loss. Ulcers, surgery, disease etc. or other increase in the body's need for iron such as pregnancy or blood donation. Today the OptiFer® series of heme iron supplements are available that are made with natural bovine hemoglobin.

1. IMPORTANT FACTS YOU NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT HEME IRON

2. Heme iron in meat courses is the most
important source of iron
• Historically meat courses have been the main and most
important dietary provider of iron for humans.
• An iron-poor diet may be the reason for anaemia outside of
increased need for iron because of blood loss (ulcers, surgery,
disease etc. or increase in the body's need for iron
(pregnancy, blood donation)
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases_conditions/hic_Anemia/hic-anemia-and-iron-rich-foods

3. Synthetic/artificial supplements
• There are only two kinds of iron that we can use; heme iron
from meat, poultry or fish and non-heme iron from
vegetables, dairy products or chemically bonded iron in the
regular supplements.
• All regular supplements are synthetic/artificial. They feature
chemically bonded iron such as Ferrous Sulphate.
• Today there are heme iron supplements available that are
made with natural bovine hemoglobin.

4. Heme iron uptake is more than five times
more efficient than non-heme iron uptake
• Heme iron is natural for man and still is the best and most
efficient way of absorbing the iron we all need to live and
for our bodies to function properly.
• In a normal diet heme iron from meat products play a large
role.
• The regular iron supplements today are syntethic and
often produce gastro-intestinal side-effects which in many
cases terminate the important therapy.
Hallberg, L., Hulthén, L. & Gramatkovski, E. 1997. Iron absorption from the whole diet in men: how
effective is the regulation of iron absorption? Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 66: 347-56.

5. Heme iron has no known side-effects,
tolerance is at placebo level
• In published medical studies the incidence of side-effects
with heme iron products is at placebo level.
http://www.slideshare.net/MichaelCollan/what-do-we-know-about-heme-iron
• The mechanism of uptake for heme iron does not leave
free iron ions in the gut. Hemoglobin iron not taken up is
completely inert.
• Non-heme iron is taken up at a lesser degree, leaving toxic
and reactive free iron ions in the stomach that may cause
disturbancies and are potentially carcinogenous

6. Large-scale usage of heme iron since
more than thirty years
• Pure hemolyzed hemoglobin powder derivated from the
food industry as raw material for iron substitution was
developed and introduced in Sweden in the early seventies.
• No cases of poisoning or seroius side-effects ever recorded
from heme iron after massive usage for many years.
• Heme iron is by far the best-tolerated and efficient form of
iron.

7. Heme iron is always absorbed,
in any clinical situation
• Unlike non-heme iron, absorption of heme iron is not affected
by other chelating components of the diet such as phytates,
tannates and phosphate.
• Heme iron will always be absorbed - in all clinical situations.
• Heme iron is absorbed from the beginning of the intestine,
which means it will work also for patients, who have had gut
surgery.

8. Other food, drink or medication will
not affect uptake
• Unlike non-heme iron, absorption is not affected by other
components of the diet, drink or medication.
• Hemoglobin in the diet containing heme iron is taken up
via a separate non-competitive mechanism and will
disintegrate only within the intestinal cell before iron is
being transported to where it's needed.

9. Efficay and tolerance over time
• The uptake and tolerance of heme iron will not change
even over a longer time period.
• This is good news for the chronics, since non-heme iron
will usually give problems with uptake sooner or later,
which means another form of therapy must be
considered.

10. Chronics have to supplement over long
periods or permanently
• There is a large number of chronics in various incurable
diseases with anaemia, These are for instance Chronic kidney
disease, Inflammatory bowel disease and Coronary heart
disease.
• Since iron is absolutely vital these chronics need continual
supplementation indefinitely.
• Chronics usually receive regular syntethic oral non-heme
tablets in high doses until treatment fails due to side-effects.
• The remaining alternative is very expensive and inconvenient
intravenous iron. There are also potential risks, such as
overdosing and increased oxidative stress.

11. The solution
• The OptiFer® series of iron food supplements are safe,
efficient and very well tolerated, which is crucial for therapy
success.
• The OptiFer® products give an optimal dose and can be used
over longer periods with no change in efficacy and tolerance.
• OptiFer® products compete favorably also in daily cost with
the regular synthetic supplements.

12. The OptiFer® Series of Heme-Iron
supplements easily correct moderate to low iron
values.
OptiFer® products are very effective but will not
give unpleasant side effects