Posts Tagged ‘iron souces’

Iron transports oxygen from your lungs to the cells in your body. Iron is not only good but necessary for the human body to function. When iron becomes too much of a good thing it is downright dangerous.

High Iron Dangers

There are studies that show that blood donors exhibit lower rates of many diseases and experience better health. What this means is that by giving some blood you remove some of the circulation iron.

Iron is an important component of hemoglobin in red blood cells, and is required to transport oxygen, DNA synthesis and other processes. It also has a destructive side. In its free form, unbound from hemoglobin or other binding proteins, it accelerates oxidation or “rusting” of body tissue. Also iron-induced oxidation worsens the course of most diseases. Controlling iron is a way to prevent and treat some conditions. These would include heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s.

When this excess iron interacts with oxygen in the body, it produces the free radicals which damage cells and eventually lead to organ failure (like cirrhosis of the liver), heart attack, cancer and pancreatic damage.

Iron Load Increases With Age

Around the age of 18, excess iron begins to accumulate at 1 milligram per day;

Excess iron in the blood stream is called unbound iron, or free iron. The free iron can build up for years and be the instigator of health problems as people age.

This build up has been implicated in premature aging, cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, liver damage, and heart disease.

When inflammation occurs in the body, free iron accumulates there and causes oxidation which then accelerates the inflammation.

Today’s Iron Source

The foods with the greatest amount of iron in the American diet today include fortified cereals, bread, cakes, cookies, doughnuts, and pasta. The more natural sources are beef, liver, beans, lentils, and poultry. Foods that have small amounts of iron are legumes, and dried fruit.

People are getting more than the recommended dietary level of iron from supplements and enriched foods. The consumption of red meet a rich source of iron has been dropping, while the consumption of processed foods has been rising.

There is some data that indicates that iron from natural sources doesn’t result in iron overload. Traditionally many people were carnivores and didn’t suffer from iron overload.

Inhaled tobacco smoke contains significant amounts of iron. Unbalanced estrogen (hormone replacement therapies) promote iron and copper uptake.

People who develop iron overload often take iron supplements. Iron also leaches from cast iron cookware and stainless steel pots. Cast iron and stainless steel are not foods: they contain an iron that is not from food and may cause imbalances.