@ChemBB
So I have done some significant research based on my labs for my iron.
I had been using Iron Biglycinate, however both my dose and lifestyle make it very hard to optimally dose. Why so:
Bisglycinate is good, but extremely fragile for absorption:
Iron bisglycinate (Ferrochel) only works in ideal conditions:
- completely empty stomach
- no calcium
- no magnesium
- no zinc
- no protein
- no caffeine
- no T4 (it blocks t4)
- no dairy
- no multivitamin
- no competing minerals for 4–6 hours
As we live bodybuilding lifestyles:
- With a High RBC turnover due to Training, recovery, and elevated erythropoietin = you burn iron faster.
- High metabolic rate = More mitochondria = more iron demand.
- Large meals and constant eating and we saw the foods we can’t eat.
And bodybuilders rarely go 4 hours without food or supplements.
- Nighttime supplement stacks
Most include:
- magnesium
- zinc
- multivitamins
= all iron killers
- Morning T4 = you can’t take it in the morning most of the time
And tbh most ppl ik here have a calcium-rich diet due to our food choices.
Calcium alone reduces iron absorption by 60–70%.
I found a better product in terms of efficiency but with the same constraints:
Iron from Ferrous Fumarate Is Better Than Bisglycinate — But Still Hard in my/our Case
Ferrous fumarate:
- delivers more elemental iron (65 mg)
- absorbs 2–3× better
- corrects deficiency faster
- used clinically for low TSAT
But the issue is that you still need that ideal condition to be met. No food/supplements
My proposed solution:
Heme Iron (Proferrin / HIP) Is the
BEST Solution for a Bodybuilder.
It bypasses all the blockers, Heme iron uses a different transporter (HCP1), so it is NOT affected by that huge list I wrote. You can literally take it with anything.
Absorption is insane compared to non-heme iron
Regular iron = 2–10% absorption
Heme iron = 25–40% absorption
Meaning a 12 mg heme tablet is equivalent to 60–90 mg of regular iron.
From what I have seen:
This is a gold-standard fact in nutrition science, cited across:
- hematology textbooks
- NIH fact sheets
- clinical trials
My protocol:
Chatgpt: Proferrin Is One of the Only FDA-NDH Listed Heme Iron Manufacturers
So I’ll have to go with the ones I attached.
- I’ll be taking this twice a day for 4-6 weeks, if I fix my TSAT then I have finally fixed my deficiency, as someone who is most likely with a thalassemia trait and a active deficiency this should have noticeable effects on cardio/sleep/energy/mental clarity/mood/strength/pumps/fatugie.
All sounds good on paper. Hopefully I can make it work
