How Do You Know If You Need More Iron Or Need To Avoid It?

[Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

How Do You Know If You Need More Iron Or Need To Avoid It?
United Feature Syndicate

Story last updated at 7:57 a.m. Monday, November 8, 2004

Q: My diet tends to include a lot of iron. Is it possible to get too
much?

A: Some Americans need iron supplements. Others get more iron than
they need, and sometimes the extra iron causes damage.

"Do you have iron-poor, tired blood?" Asked the Geritol ads from the
1960s. Then they offered a supplement sure to help anyone tired from
working, cleaning or taking care of children. It could even improve
marriages and sex lives.

Geritol's parent company ended up paying a hefty fine for false
advertising, but the slogan still holds wall space in the mental
hallways of many. But just how important is iron?

Very. Iron forms part of hemoglobin, the molecule that enables your
red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the body, from toes to
tonsils. The most common consequence of iron deficiency is anemia, a
shortage of hemoglobin. Iron also assists in the formation of muscle
cells and a number of proteins and enzymes.

Normally, the body does a remarkable job of reusing and saving iron.
It loses only one to two milligrams (mgs) each day through sweat and
skin and other tissues that the body sloughs off. That's about how
much most people need to absorb from their diet. Recommendations for
daily intake are higher because only a fraction of the iron we eat is
absorbed.

The body does store iron, so stored levels tend to increase with age.
With these reserves to draw upon, older people -- at least in the
United States -- usually needn't worry about a shortage of iron.

About 1 in every 3 people in the world may need additional iron
because of iron-poor diets.

Only about 5 percent of Americans are deficient because of iron added
to packaged foods and a higher consumption of meat, poultry and fish.

Even in this country, however, iron deficiency can be a problem for
younger women because they have significant amounts of blood loss
from menstruation: when you lose blood, you lose the iron in the
blood.

Children are vulnerable, too, because they're growing so fast.

About 1 in every 200 people has just the opposite problem: iron
overload caused by an inherited condition called hemochromatosis (HE-
moe-KRO-moe-TOE-sis) that causes the body to absorb too much iron.

Levels can get high enough to cause liver and pancreatic damage. The
condition is often controlled by having blood drawn regularly, to
remove iron from the body.

There is some evidence that high iron intake might be a more general
problem. Research has linked high iron intake to disorders of the
nervous system.

One study found that people with high iron intake have an increased
risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Researchers have also
reported links between iron and heart disease. These findings have
been contradicted by others, however, so the connections are still
unclear.

When you eat meat, poultry or fish, you're consuming iron that's
readily absorbed because it's already conveniently packaged in
hemoglobin and an oxygen-carrying protein in muscle fibers that is
similar to hemoglobin. The iron in plant and dairy foods and added to
some cereals and multivitamins is not as easily absorbed.

A form of iron found in soybeans is absorbed well. This form might be
an inexpensive way to improve dietary iron intake. Products made from
whole soybeans, like soy milk and soy butter, are rich in this type
of iron but tofu, prepared in the traditional way, has less because
it's made from hulled soybeans.

Iron absorption can be dramatically affected by other compounds and
nutrients. A compound found in spinach, cocoa and some nuts
interferes with it, as do the tannins in tea. But vitamin C boosts
iron absorption.

The bottom line is that if you are a woman who has regular heavy
menstrual periods, or who is pregnant, you should have your blood
count and blood iron checked periodically. The only reason for a man
or a nonpregnant woman to take iron each day is if tests show that
their blood iron level is low.

Taking a daily iron pill (or liquid) if your iron levels are not low
may actually cause harm, especially if you have hemochromatosis and
don't know it.

The small amounts of iron in a typical multivitamin tablet probably
will not cause harm, except for those with hemochromatosis.

If you would like to e-mail questions to the Harvard Medical School
Adviser, you can submit questions to the Harvard Medical School
Adviser at www.health.harvard.edu/adviser. For more consumer health
information from Harvard Medical School, visit
http://www.health.harvard.edu

SOURCE: The Charleston Post Courier, SC
http://tinyurl.com/4t898

* * *Murray Charters <mcharters@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
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