MONOHERB Heme Iron Polypeptide 11 mg - 90 Vegetarian Capsules

Took these with ferritin... after tests showed I was severely anemic. The next time I had a check up 2-3 months later, iron levels were normal.

good

My 14 year old son's multi doesn't have iron, so I decided to supplement with this. While it doesn't appear to cause stomach discomfort (he's non-verbal), it also doesn't seem to make a difference. Maybe it's not supposed to. I'm genuinely perplexed, because he doesn't eat any meat - not my choice, by the way. I'm going to keep giving it to him, though. He still needs the iron.

The product said to take before eating. It also said Heme Iron Polypeptide is far easier on the GI tract than other supplements. Not sure how soon before eating to take it, I waited 20 - 30 minutes, then had dinner. Next AM woke with gastritis symptoms ... and as those subsided over two weeks, they morphed into hunger pangs, even though all I was eating was gluten-free oatmeal. A Dietician said to try beans, a few nuts, and vegetables ... I woke that AM at about 2:30 due to massive, torturous hunger pangs. After an endoscopy and abdominal scans, and consulting with four Gastroenterologist (and my own on-line research of NCBI clinical-research review articles), it was confirmed: the iron supplement caused ulcer-like functional dyspepsia. All iron supplements (as a CVS pharmacist later told me) can cause GI issues for some people. In fact, in rare cases, oral iron supplements can embed iron in the lining of the stomach leading to symptoms and even to bleeding ulcers! There is only about a 20% chance of recovery from Functional Dyspepsia, so I will likely be permanently disabled from this one iron supplement for the rest of my (now likely shortened) life, while I have to live on only water, fat-free milk, and buckwheat (and a few maple candies for flavor and much-needed calories). I now have had to take sublingual, injectable, and some ingestible vitamins and minerals and get regular blood tests all due to trying this one iron pill. It's been nearly 6 months of deprivation and disability due to this one iron pill. BUYER BEWARE!!!!!

Heme Iron Polypeptide is a much higher quality iron, so it's great this brand offers it at a fair price. Unfortunately, the product contains added flax seed, which adds a rancid smell and taste to the capsule. I don't know why the manufacturer did that, maybe to help the iron absorption, but it's not a huge deal if you take this with some juice. Pros: High quality iron supplements at a great price. Cons: Smell and taste is affected by the added flax seed.