Aoife Hearne: My teenage daughter's heavy periods drain her energy 

The biggest risk with heavy periods is that you can develop anaemia, specifically iron-deficiency anaemia. This happens when you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body. Iron is essential for making a protein (haemoglobin) in red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body.

Heavy periods lead to significant blood loss over time, depleting the body’s iron stores. In addition, iron plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy immune system. A blood test at your GP’s clinic will check the iron levels in your blood.

The recommended iron intake for young women aged 12 to 17 is 13mg daily.

The best source of iron is heme iron.

This type of iron is well absorbed and is found mainly in animal sources such as red meat (3oz = 2mg) and egg yolks (3 eggs = 4mg).

Non-heme iron is less well absorbed and found mainly in plant-based foods such as beans (200g pot = 3mg) and cooked spinach (100g = 1.5mg) and fortified breakfast cereal (two Weetabix = 5mg). To achieve adequate iron throughout the month, it’s crucial to consume a variety of iron-rich foods daily.

In addition to a balanced eating plan, some of the following guidelines can help increase iron absorption:

• Include iron-rich foods twice a day
• Include acidic foods and juices (for example, orange juice or tomato-based sauces) with iron-rich foods as this increases absorption
• Avoid tea and coffee with meals as this limits iron absorption
• Excessive fibre and calcium supplements can also reduce iron absorption.

Taking iron in supplemental form is also an option if these iron-rich foods are not consumed regularly or if iron remains low.

A word of caution: constipation can be a side effect of taking some iron supplements, so don’t forget to ensure you consume fibre-rich foods and adequate fluids to avoid this uncomfortable side effect.

• If you have a question for dietitian Aoife Hearne, please send it to parenting@examiner.ie