Proferrin ES- 10.5mg of high Absorbing Heme Iron Polypeptide. Made in The USA. 30 Tablets. Easy on The Gut. Not affected by Coffee, Calcium, or PPI’s.

No stomach issues
I usually can’t take ANYTHING on an empty stomach.. I gave this a run for it’s money and took 1 in the morning by itself and I didn’t get nauseous or anything which is incredible for an iron supplement nonetheless. Will update my review as I retest my iron. I will be taking 3 separately through the day due to chronic iron deficiency that’s gone on for decades.

Increases ferritin. Zero side effects. Take 3 daily, cut pills to facilitate disintegration.
23 days of proferrin, and my ferritin has gone from 18 to 32. No side effects to speak of, except that I can run with energy again. It is such a gift to feel my strength again, like youth. I’m continuing with this.I was taking iron bis-glycinate, but while effective when taken on an empty stomach, I felt like I had swallowed a balloon. When I took iron bis-glycinate with meals (away from calcium), it was not effective after 4 months of use.I take proferrin with meat stock first thing in the morning; apparently it absorbs better in the presence of amino acids: “free amino acids as cysteine, lysine and histidine enhanced heme and ionic Fe absorption in experimental models”. Also iron absorption is apparently not sensitive to calcium in doses of less than 800 mg at a time. “Calcium does not inhibit the absorption of 5 milligrams of nonheme or heme iron at doses less than 800 milligrams”. Where other forms of iron are inhibited by phytates and polyphenols, heme iron is not. Lastly, I understand (hopefully correctly) that heme iron may cause less oxidative stress than other forms. I hope that as a result, it lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s disease associated with iron supplementation.Update: I was taking 1 pill per day at the time of this review. Since then my ferritin levels dropped to 20, so I began taking 2 per day. Fortunately I did this without any gastrointestinal upset, but unfortunately, 2/day only brought my ferritin up to 21 (I got this blood test result back today). Iron repletion is obviously extraordinarily complex. I’m baffled by it.Update July 2018:My ferritin dropped to 20, then to 17, 13, and finally to 10 while taking approximately 7 proferrin per week. During that time I tried alternating schedules, taking it with broth, lactoferrin, pepsin. Nothing worked. Once my ferritin had dropped to 10, I decided to take 30 mg per day, which is apparently the max you can take without causing expression of Hepcidin (prevents the uptake of iron). Also, I had been inspecting my stool (I know, gross…) and found pockets of dry black powder from undissolved proferrin pills. These pills look like black charcoal on the inside, which is probably why the coat is colored (green). Obviously absorption won’t happen if they haven’t dissolved.I started taking 3 pills (30 mgs) each morning, all at once, on an empty stomach, away from calcium. Most importantly, I cut each pill in half before taking, which seemed to help disintegration because I found no more black powder in stools. As a result, my ferritin climbed back up to 17 after 1 month of this routine. I’ll continue checking ferritin levels each month until it has reached a steady state. Hopefully no more downturns.Update November 2018:My monthly ferritin levels have continued to rise on the schedule of three pills per day, cut, on an empty stomach, and away from calcium. Here are my ferritin results (ng/ml): August (16), September (21), October (25), and November (40). Awesome. Feeling so much better.

MIRACULOUS!!! In 2 months, ferritin went from 14 to 47, iron from 30 to 80, hemoglobin from 12.1 to 13.5!
My hemoglobin levels have been in the “normal” range for quite some time, but my serum ferritin levels have been low for many years. I just didn’t know it was such a serious issue until I was diagnosed with PLMD or PLMS (Periodic Limb Movement Disorder) in the summer of 2014. My sleep doctor recommended that my primary care physician check my serum ferritin level and that it should be at least 50-60 to mitigate the effects of having PLMD (or restless leg). My ferritin level came back–9! This is considered “normal” on the bloodwork, but not in journal articles. They frequently mention low ferritin as a possible cause of many issues like depression, fatigue, restless leg, thyroid problems, etc.I ate a bunch of meat that summer into fall–like every day for four months–and my level increased to 12. Then I tried other iron supplements: iron bisglycinate, dessicated beef liver pills, Floradix, Hema-plex, Ferrasorb, etc., for almost a year. The ferritin increased to 15. I felt like I was getting nowhere.Then in the middle of the night during one of my awake periods earlier this year (2016), I was researching PLMD and restless leg journal studies desperately searching for an answer. I came across a journal article that said that heme iron worked a lot better than non-heme iron and patient ferritin levels increased dramatically in a short period of time. I googled heme-iron supplements in the US and found Proferrin. I thought it couldn’t hurt because my iron had been tested mid-February and had gone back down to 14. I felt like I had to do something, but it’s kind of expensive, so I started with this 30 pill bottle.I bought it on March 12. It arrived on the 14th. I started taking 1-2 pills a day until I had my blood checked again on May 19th. My serum ferritin level had increased from 14 to 47!!!!!!!! My hemoglobin had increased from 12.1 to 13.5 and iron was up from 30 to 80! Very impressive results. Now, I order the bottle of 90! Proferrin ES Heme Iron Polypeptide Dietary Supplement Tablets, Blue/Green, 90 Count. I had surgery in June and lost a lot of blood, so I am taking it again…this time 2-3 pills per day. I also take iron cofactors–B12 (hydroxocobalamin) and methylfolate (L-5-MTHF). I don’t know if those help, but I’ve taken them before with other iron supplements and never had my iron levels get up so high! So I would highly recommend this iron supplement…especially if you’re a menstruating woman who’s ferritin level is below 50!

Finally an iron supplement that actually works. Within two weeks of starting to use these, my brain fog has finally lifted. I tried so many other supplements with no success that I didn’t expect this. So glad I tried!