Feeling tired or lethargic?
Unusually breathless and dizzy? Difficulty concentrating? Looking paler than normal?
It could be that you have low iron levels.
According to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, one in three 19-24 year olds have low iron stores.
Yet most people should get all the iron they need through eating a healthy balanced diet.
This is not necessarily conducive to the typical student lifestyle of quick, easy meals and late nights but eating enough iron-rich foods is easier, and cheaper, than you may think.
Good sources of iron are:
Red meat (the darker the meat, the more iron it has)
Oily fish e.g. mackerel and sardines
Dark green leafy vegetables e.g. broccoli, kale and spring greens
Baked beans
Boiled or poached egg
Wholemeal bread
Fortified breakfast cereals
Dried fruit such as figs, apricots and raisins
Whole grains e.g. brown rice
Dark chocolate
Unfortunately tea and coffee contain tannins that make it harder for the body to absorb iron, so cutting down could help boost your iron levels. 
So why is iron so important? Simply put, iron is essential for the production of healthy red blood cells and to maintain healthy bone marrow.
It is used by the body to make haemoglobin, which stores and carries oxygen in red blood cells around the body.
Low iron stores mean fewer red blood cells are made and those that are made have decreased amounts of haemoglobin.
Without an adequate supply of oxygen, many parts of the body cannot work properly.
When the rate of iron loss exceeds the amount absorbed from your diet, the first thing that happens is that the body uses up its iron stores.
If blood iron levels continue to fall, this can then lead to iron-deficiency anaemia, which is when the number of red blood cells and/ or amount of haemoglobin in the red blood cells falls to below normal.
Iron-deficiency anaemia is the most severe form of low iron deficiency and is completely treatable, typically involving iron supplements to return iron levels to a healthy level.
There are many causes of iron deficiency and anaemia, however unless you are pregnant, it is unlikely that anaemia will be caused just by lack of iron in your diet.
The most common cause of anaemia in women is heavy periods, so the recommended amount of iron is higher for women (14.8mg a day compared to 8.7mg for men).
Malabsorption, when the body struggles to absorb adequate amounts of iron, is another common cause which can be due to other conditions.
If you experience any of the symptoms of low iron levels (excessive tiredness, dizziness, breathlessness, pale complexion) then get yourself down to the Health Service to get checked out.
It’s better to be safe than sorry.
My experience
During my first year at uni I burnt the candle at both ends, with lots of late nights out clubbing and all nighters. I have always had problems absorbing iron but, when I was at home, my parents always made sure that I had enough iron in my diet.
Settling into my new life and the independence that came with it meant eating a healthy diet was put on the backburner. I was really tired all the time and getting up in the mornings even for a 12 o’clock lecture was really difficult.
People would comment on how extremely pale I was looking and I seemed to be getting ill a lot so I went along to the doctors.
I had a blood test to check for iron deficiency and it turned out my iron levels were half of what they should be.
A few months of iron tablets, blood tests and check ups later, my iron levels went back up.
Now I constantly watch what I eat and make sure I have enough iron rich foods.
It can seem like a hassle but as I am naturally on the iron deficient side, there is the risk that I will become anaemic again and it is not an experience I would like to relive anytime soon.