What is the Difference Between Carbonyl Iron and Ferrous Ascorbate

The key difference between carbonyl iron and ferrous ascorbate is that the iron content in carbonyl iron is comparatively high, whereas the iron content in ferrous ascorbate is comparatively low.

Carbonyl iron and ferrous ascorbate are important as medication to treat low iron levels in our blood and are also useful as iron supplements. However, we must take these medications according to the directions of the doctor.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Carbonyl Iron
3. What is Ferrous Ascorbate
4. Similarities –  Carbonyl Iron and Ferrous Ascorbate
5. Carbonyl Iron vs Ferrous Ascorbate in Tabular Form
6. Summary –  Carbonyl Iron vs Ferrous Ascorbate

What is Carbonyl Iron?

Carbonyl iron is an iron supplement and is useful as a medication for the treatment and prevention of low levels of iron in the blood such as anemia or pregnancy. Since iron is an important mineral that our body needs in order to produce red blood cells, it is essential to maintain our good health. Carbonyl iron comes in the form of a tablet that is commercially available.

Typically, iron is best absorbed in an empty stomach. Therefore, it is advised to take carbonyl iron tablets at least 1 or 2 hours before a meal. However, if we get an upset stomach by taking this medication that way, we may have to take it with food. There are also liquid iron drops that are available for infants and children. However, we need to avoid taking dairy products, antacids, tea, and coffee within 2 hours of taking this supplement. This is because these food items that were mentioned above can cause a reduction of the effectiveness of carbonyl iron.

Moreover, doctors usually advise us to take this tablet along with a full glass of water and not to lie down for at least 10 minutes after taking medicine. There are several types of carbonyl iron supplement, extended-release capsules that have to be swallowed as a whole, chewable tablets which need to be chewed thoroughly followed by swallowing, liquid suspension that should be taken after shaking the bottle well, etc. When giving the liquid drops to infants, we have to take extra care when measuring the correct volume using the dropper.

What is Ferrous Ascorbate?

Ferrous ascorbate is a medication useful in treating and preventing iron deficiency anemia. We can use this medication when the amount of iron that we take from the diet is insufficient. Moreover, this supplement is useful in treating anemia caused by chronic kidney failure. However, we should use it only for treating iron deficiency-related hemoglobin diseases.

Typically, ferrous ascorbate comes in the form of tablets consisting of about 100 mg elemental iron. Therefore, the recommended dose would be one tablet per day; however, following a doctor’s prescription is always advised.

Moreover, there is another type of medication consisting of iron that is ferrous sulfate. Although both these are important as iron supplements, ferrous ascorbate is better than ferrous sulfate because ferrous ascorbate shows fewer gastrointestinal side effects. Moreover, it is readily absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. Besides, this medication shows no significant interactions with food and other medications and shows excellent tolerability as well as long-term safety.

Similarities Between Carbonyl Iron and Ferrous Ascorbate

Difference Between Carbonyl Iron and Ferrous Ascorbate

Carbonyl iron is an iron supplement and is useful as a medication for the treatment and prevention of low levels of iron in the blood. Ferrous ascorbate is a medication useful in treating and preventing iron deficiency anemia. The key difference between carbonyl iron and ferrous ascorbate is that carbonyl iron contains a higher amount of iron, whereas the iron content in ferrous ascorbate is comparatively low.

The below infographic presents the differences between carbonyl iron and ferrous ascorbate in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Carbonyl Iron vs Ferrous Ascorbate

Carbonyl iron and ferrous ascorbate are important as medication to treat low iron levels in our blood and also useful as iron supplements. The key difference between carbonyl iron and ferrous ascorbate is that carbonyl iron contains a higher amount of iron, whereas the iron content in ferrous ascorbate is comparatively low.

Reference:

1.“Carbonyl Iron Oral: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Pictures, Warnings & Dosing.” WebMD.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Some supplements I actually do recommend” By Stacy Spensley (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2. “B vitamin supplement tablets” By Ragesoss – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia

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