Floradix Iron Liquid: the Best Iron Supplement?

I write so you share. Thank you.

I don’t want to put anyone off a product that’s probably very, very good. I’ve seen a video about it (see below) and read reviews on different places and people seem to be happy with it. Have a look:

So I’ll introduce the product, Floradix iron liquid, talk about its benefits, go in detail about the problems Lynn and I experienced with it (the heartburn, heavy stomach feel, etc), will explain how to take it (and how we decided to take it), product info and ingredients, final thoughts with pros and cons and then you’ll decide if this is something you’d like to give a try.

Let’s get started.

What is Floradix®?

Here’s the basic information from their website:

Floradix contains organic iron (II) from ferrous gluconate, vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12 and C. Iron, vitamins B2, B6, B12 and C contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and to normal energy-yielding metabolism. In addition, iron contributes to normal red blood cell (supported by vitamins B6 and B12) and haemoglobin formation. Furthermore, vitamin C increases iron absorption. – Source

So, as mentioned above, we decided to go for it because of being tired on a daily basis.

Personally I don’t mind being tired most of the time because if that’s what’s happening with the body, then that’s what’s happening with the body. I don’t combat the present moment and feel at peace with it, no matter what. But it is nice to try new things and see how/if they work.

Lynn was excited about something that would give her more energy and really wanted to try Floradix iron.

Just a note about the group that makes the product; they’re a German company by the name Salus (the latin word salus meaning health, well-being, flourishing. The Salus philosophy here). I REALLY like their ethos and the fact that they’re over 100 years old (this is mentioned in the box as well, see pic above).

Floravital Iron Liquid: Our Rating

We’ll give Floradix® Floravital 3 stars out of 5. We’re aware that this can be a truly beneficial product but we found it difficult to take due to how heavy it felt on the stomach as well as the strong heartburn it gave us. More on this below.

How we Came Across Floradix Iron Liauid Floravital

We were visiting Baldwin in south London, UK, when Lynn noticed they were selling Floravital liquid iron and decisively picked a box and ‘suggested’ we should try it. That’s her way of saying: we’re getting this. We did.

Floradix Liquid Iron Benefits

  • Vitamins B2, B6, B12 and C, which contribute to the reduction of tiredness
  • The vitamins also help to normal energy yielding metabolism
  • Iron contributes to normal red blood cell and haemoglobin formation (supported by vitamins B6 and B12)
  • Vitamin C increases iron absorption
  • The ferrous gluconate in Floradix iron is absorbed better than other types of iron (source).

In terms of absorption of iron, which Floradix seems to be known for, you’ll benefit by what Curtis Alexander from ask-curtis.com has to say about it. His article is very interesting (and well informative in terms of the more technical stuff, he is a pharmacist) and I love the way in which he writes about the product (both in terms of style and content). See what you think.

The Problems we Experienced

Basically we took our first dosis on a Friday night and we couldn’t sleep due to the horrendous acidity it gave us. I had such bad heartburn I was waking up throughout the night with a heavy burning upper chest (which never happens to me, I’m not really prone to this). I could hear Lynn tossing and turning and eventually complaining about the hearburn (which seemed to be really bad as well) and after a few hours we both thought it was the smoked haddock we’ve had for dinner.

The heartburn was pretty bad, but there were other ‘side effects’ or symptoms that we both experienced. We also experienced flatulence and the sense of heaviness in the stomach (as if it was trying to dissolve a brick, at least that’s how it felt for me).

It was only when we took it again in the morning that the symptoms sort of re-appeared (not as bad as the night before) but still bad enough for us to put two and two together. It was the Floradix.

Prior to this article being written I quickly popped into Reformhaus, a German herbal remedies shop in La Paz, Tenerife (where we live), to discuss the heartburn and uncomfortableness that Floradix liquid iron gave us. Being a German shop I thought they might be very familiar with the product as well as the company behind it.

The German lady was helpful and seemed knowledgable about Floradix but she said she hadn’t heard about this problem happening to other people before, so I’m assuming that for some reason both Lynn and I are particularly susceptible to it. The only thing I can think of is the menopause, which is something we’re both going through. Other than that, not sure why it happened to both of us.

I also asked someone else about it who told me they’d never had a problem with it. And when doing some online research I didn’t really see people complaining about Floradix giving them bad heartburn. We were disappointed and felt that for some reason we seemed to not agree with the product.

One last thing: I’m usually totally fine about things not tasting well – especially when it comes to things that are ‘good for you’. I sort of took it for granted that if Floradix didn’t taste nice I would be totally fine with the fact.

But I wasn’t. It wasn’t so much the taste (which was ok at first but it sort of invades the inside of your mouth straight away with that strong, nasty metallic pang) which keeps going all the way down your throat until it lands on your stomach like a heavy brick. This heaviness would stay with me for a long time after swallowing the Floradix.

After around 3 times I said to Lynn I couldn’t swallow this thing anymore and that we should try to mix it with some sort of herbal tea that would help with digestion as well.

How to Take Floradix Liquid Iron

You need to make sure you shake the bottle before use. This is important, we were asked by 2 different people if we had been shaking the bottle before use so it must be. Then you take 10ml twice a day (approximately 30 minutes before morning and evening meals).

Because I’m Spanish we eat dinner very late so maybe we made the mistake of leaving the second dosage too far into the evening. We stopped this one (and only took it in the mornings from day two) but the German lady at the herbal remedies shop in La Paz took for granted you don’t take it at night (which is NOT what it says on the instructions). So go figure. Anyway, we generally only took it in the mornings.

How we Decided to Take it Due to Our Problem

After going through the uncomfortable night I thought we should mix the liquid with cardamom tea, which can be good for digestion.

Now, the funny thing is that instead of the liquid iron being easier to swallow (you would expect that the cardamom’s perfume-like flavour would take over) the liquid iron sort of took over completely and the actual tea tasted (heavily) of Floravital liquid iron.

In some way that made it even more difficult to swallow the liquid iron (now there was more of it!) but at least I thought it wouldn’t feel so much like a brick in our stomach. In that sense, we didn’t get such bad acidity but we still got some.

Here’s a few pics of how we mixed it with the cardamom tea.

**A happy face for the picture but to be honest I was dreading taking the Floradix formula, even though it had been mixed with the cardamom tea.**

Floradix Iron Reviews: What Do Others Think?

[Coming up soon – I’m looking into different opinions at the moment as they look very positive so I’m trying to find out if Floradix is considered to be the best supplement for  have said Floradix is the best liquid iron supplement out there.]

So, Does Floradix Work? And, if so, How Long Does it Take?

Lynn and I didn’t feel any different after 10 days of taking it. We really didn’t, not even a lift in our energy levels although I do think we were really good candidates for the test since we are both pretty tired a lot of the time (sometimes quite exhausted throughout the day). And, still, we didn’t experienced any difference in how tired we felt in general.

But this is not the experience with other people. They’ve really benefited from Floradix (see the video above) and it’s easy to see why (see the benefits above). Shame Lynn and I experienced some unwanted side effects and didn’t really feel the benefits of the iron intake.

Product Info

Let’s have a look at the ingredients for both Floradix and Floravital.

Ingredients (for Floradix and Floravital)

Floradix Liquid Iron Ingredients

Aqueous herbal extract (54 %) from:

Carrot root (Daucus carota), nettle leaf (Urtica dioica), spinach leaf(Spinacia oleracea), couch grass root, (Agropyron repens), fennel fruit, (Foeniculum vulgare), kelp thallus, (Macrocystis pyrifera), roselle flower(Hibiscus sabdariffa).

Mixture of fruit juice concentrates (29.4 %) of: pear, grape, blackcurrant juice, blackberry, cherry, orange, red beet, carob extract, water, lemon, apple.

Aqueous yeast extract, honey, aqueous rosehip soft extract (Rosa canina), containing 4 % vitamin C, iron (as ferrous gluconate), wheat germ extract, vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid), natural flavours, thiamin, (as thiamin hydrochloride), riboflavin, (as riboflavin sodium phosphate), vitamin B6 (as pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamine).

Floravital Liquid Iron and Vitamin Formula Ingredients

Aqueous herbal extract (70 %) from:

Roselle flower (Hibiscus sabdariffa), camomile flower(Matricaria recutita), fennel fruit (Foeniculum vulgare), spinach leaf, (Spinacia oleracea).

Mixture of fruit juice concentrates (27%) of: grape, pear, blackcurrant juice, cherry, blackberry, carrot.

Iron (as ferrous gluconate), aqueous rosehip soft extract (Rosa canina)containing 4 % vitamin C, vitamin C (Lascorbic acid), vitamin B6 (as pyridoxine hydrochloride), riboflavin (as riboflavin sodium phosphate), thiamin (as thiamin hydrochloride), vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamine).

Floravital Liquid Iron: Our Verdict

What can I say. Mix match. It would have been good to have a success story, but for some strange reason we don’t have it. The strange fact is that I haven’t seen others going through the same ‘side effects’ as we have (well, more like uncomfortabilities if that makes sense) so not sure what verdict to give this.

Maybe we need to try again some other time, and see how we get on as well as maybe go through a longer trial (15 days or so) although the thought of going through the heartburn and uncomfortable heaviness in the stomach is not really appealing to be honest.

Pros & Cons

Here’s the list of pros and cons.

Pros

  • Company: great ethos
  • Good reviews in general
  • Seems to be good for iron absorption (the added Vitamin C being a plus)
  • Easy to take

Cons

  • Gave us really bad heartburn
  • Gave us stomach cramps
  • It feels heavy on the stomach for a long time
  • A very strong metallic taste that lingers
  • Pouring is easy but you need to keep wiping the jar afterwords otherwise it dribbles which is ok but still annoying
  • The price could be better

Final Thoughts

Lynn and I need the iron and we decided to just stick to the way we’ve been taking it in general, which is by having quite a lot of lentils in our diet as well as chickpeas and beans (white, red and black or frijoles). We will drink fresh orange juice because the Vitamin C would help with iron absorption although I need to check if this will actually work.

I also need to find out about portions and daily intake as well as find out about the types of foods that will give us the iron we need. Spinach is a good option also, we love broccoli and we’ve also decided to integrate more nuts into our diet so it’s all looking promising. Find here a simple list of iron-rich foods.

Where to Buy

Find below the link to Amazon. I couldn’t find the exact one we took (Floravital) but if you’d like to give Floradix Iron a try, this one will give you a good idea if this liquid iron supplement is for you.

2 Comments

  1. Floradix is meant for people who suffer from anemia and general low iron levels.

    It’s actually best taken after food If you have a sensitive stomach. You should also never drink it with tea as the tannins prevent absorption.

    1. Hi Kirstie;

      Thanks for your comment! We went to several places enquiring about Floradix they all said they’d never heard of anyone having that particular problem and that it was good for us to take (we’re both going through the menopause) but it really was difficult to stand because of how heavy it felt.

      I don’t really get an upset stomach often (at all actually) so I found it weird.

      Now we’ve been taking magnesium tablets and we’ve also have been having problems with our stomach. So the people at the herbal shop told us to take half daily instead of one. Now we’re ok.

      It’s such a learning curve! Thanks again for your advice, I’ll make sure to let Lynn know as well : )

      Patri

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