Iron - a Double Edged Sword

Iron is a key vitality mineral. It carries oxygen to our tissues, and builds vitality, magnetism, and optimism. Iron is important for mental function.

Iron deficiency anemia is a common problem for children, premenopausal woman (incl. pregnant and lactating woman), athletes and seniors.

Taking extra iron without knowing weather or not it is really needed, is a bad idea. Anemia can also be caused by other causes, such as genetic diseases (e.g sickle cell anemia, thalassemia), B12 deficiency, chronic internal bleeding and cancer. Compensating with iron supplements regardless of the cause can spell serious problems, so always find the true cause of an anemia with your physician.

There are people that are “slowly killed” by too much iron. Excess iron has been linked to cancer, heart disease, infection, arthritis, and parkinson’s disease. Iron deposits in brain tissue is being increasingly linked to neurological diseases, such as Alzheimers. [1]

Experts now question wether cancer is a “Ferrotoxic Disease” after a study showed that ridding excess iron through blood donation appeared to cut cancer death rates in half. [2]

According nutrition researchers, the association of red meat consumption and increased risk of breast cancer may be due to the fact, that the heme-iron in meat gets absorbed by the body, even if the body has enough iron. In contrast: Iron absorption from plant-based sources is blocked by the intestines, if iron is not needed, and absorption is increased, when iron stores are getting low. [3, 4, 5]

Our body has a very limited capacity to rid itself of excess iron. Processed foods that are fortified with iron and multivitamins with iron can contribute to iron overload over time. Have your iron levels checked.

To enhance iron absorption:

- Love Chlorophyll rich foods, including green leafy vegetables and

herbs, algaes and sea weed

- Add Vitamin C rich foods to your meal

- Sprout your grains, nuts, seeds and legumes

(sprouting inactivates phytic acid)

- Skip coffee, tea and chocolate

Plus, in times of need, the Homeopathic Cell Salt Ferrum Phos. 6x will help your body utilize more iron from you food.

Get the Glow - Safely ;-)

Blessings,

Jeannette von Johnsbach

Sources:

1 Dr Joanna F Collingwood, Professor Jon Dobson, Iron and Alzheimer’s disease: the good, the bad and the ugly (Keele University, Staffordshire, UK), The Journal of Quality Research in Dementia, Issue 3, Alzheimer’s Society, http://alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=306&pageNumber=6

2 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Cancer as a Ferrotoxic Disease: Are We Getting Hard Stainless Evidence?, Gustaf Edgren, Olof Nyrén and Mads Melbye, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden (GE, ON); Division of Epidemiology, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark Oxford Journals Medicine, JNCI J Natl Cancer Inst., Volume 100, Issue 14, Pp. 976-977.

3 Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Dec;18(10):1047-53. Epub 2007 Sep 6., Does excess iron play a role in breast carcinogenesis? An unresolved hypothesis. Kabat GC, Rohan TE., Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY 10461, USA..

4 Michael Greger MD, Risks of Iron Supplementation, July 27, 2012

5 Mechanisms of heme iron absorption: Current questions and controversies, Adrian R West and Phillip S Oates, World J Gastroenterol. 2008 July 14; 14(26): 4101–4110., http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2725368/

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