Women Can Have Too Much Iron

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http://mercola.com/2002/dec/18/iron.htm

 

 

Women Can Have Too Much Iron

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iron is potentially toxic because it serves as a catalyst in oxidation-reduction

reactions. Also, because the human body has a limited capacity to excrete iron,

it can build up in the body. Awareness of the potential harm of iron stores in

the body has increased as animal and tissue studies have shown that large

amounts of iron can encourage increased rates of tumor growth, and have found

evidence of peroxidation induced by iron.

 

 

 

In one study of men, those with serum ferritin (SF), an acute phase reactant

protein used to measure iron in the body, concentrations of greater than 200

µg/L had an over twofold increase in acute myocardial infarction than men with

SF concentrations below 200 µg/L. While other studies did not reflect these

findings, researchers suggest that increased SF concentrations may not reflect

increased iron stores, but may result from infections associated with coronary

heart disease.

 

 

 

Most studies to date have been conducted in men, who tend to have higher iron

stores than women. Few studies have been conducted to determine an association

between iron stores and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women of

reproductive age. One recent study examined this association among relatively

healthy, non-pregnant women aged 20 to 49 years. Data from a survey conducted

from 1988 to 1994 were used to examine the relation between SF concentration and

CVD risk factors including body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol,

triacylglycerol, HDL cholesterol, plasma glucose, and blood pressure. Results

indicated that SF was strongly correlated with total body iron stores, which

combines hemoglobin, serum transferrin, and ferritin. Researchers say that these

findings suggest that CVD risk factors are positively associated with iron

stores in women of this age group.

 

 

 

American Journal Clinical Nutrition December 2002 76;1256-1260

 

 

 

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

 

Iron is nature’s rusting agent, and excess levels of iron in our bodies is one

of the most potent ways that our body becomes oxidized, or prematurely aged.

 

Iron creates a dilemma in that iron deficiency is the most common

single-nutrient deficiency disease in the world and is a major concern for

approximately 15 percent of the world's population. Iron is also a major

nutrient needed by most children and menstruating women.

 

However, most men have a problem with too much iron because iron is not readily

excreted through the body's usual excretory routes of urine, bile and sweat;

rather, the primary way in which iron is lost is through the shedding of cells

from the skin or gastrointestinal tract or through blood loss, as in menstrual

blood loss or chronic or acute hemorrhage.

 

After a woman stops menstruating it becomes very important to monitor for excess

iron levels as processed foods that are fortified with iron and any

multivitamins with iron will tend to contribute to iron overload. If you are not

familiar with how to diagnose iron overload conditions please look at the

hemochromatosis diagnosis page.

 

Measuring iron levels is a very important part of optimizing your health.

However, simply measuring serum iron is a poor way to do this, because the most

useful of the indirect measures of iron status in the body is through a measure

of the serum ferritin level.

 

If you find elevated iron levels, you do not have to perform therapeutic

phlebotomies. A simple extract from rice bran called phytic acid, or IP6, can

serve as a very effective form of iron chelation that is non-toxic, inexpensive

and can be done without a prescription.

 

Tsuno Food & Rice Company of Wakayama Japan is the only manufacturer of IP6 in

the world; any brand you purchase would come from this company. Since it is all

the same product, the least expensive brand is probably the way to go and Jarrow

seems to have the best prices.

 

I have compiled a list of over 125 references to medical literature documenting

the importance of iron and its influence on heart disease, cancer and

infections. I hope to post it after my schedule allows me to transform it into

something that is more readable.

 

 

 

 

 

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