- Iron is essential for life as it transports oxygen in your body, helps regulate cell growth, maintains brain function, metabolism and endocrine function and is involved in energy production and immune function
- Having either too much or too little iron can have serious repercussions. While iron deficiency is commonly checked for, iron overload is actually far more common a problem, yet is often overlooked or ignored
- Excess iron accelerates every major disease we know of, and causes the pathologies associated with liver and cardiovascular disease. Fortunately, treatment is easy and inexpensive: Simply donate your blood
Having either too much or too little iron can have serious health consequences and, while iron-deficiency anemia is commonly checked for, many doctors are still seriously misinformed about the dangers of iron overload, which is actually a far more common problem. In fact, most men and postmenopausal women are at risk for iron overload due to inefficient iron excretion, since they do not bleed on a regular basis and blood loss is the primary way to lower excess iron, as the body has no active excretion mechanisms.
Health Problems Associated With High and Low Iron
Having just the right amount of iron is important, as without it, your body cannot work properly, and with excess, iron causes a great deal of destructive harm within your body. Following is a list of conditions associated with either extreme:3
Diseases associated with low iron levels | Diseases associated with iron overload |
---|---|
Anemia | Anemia of chronic disease |
Fatigue | Insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome |
Fibromyalgia | Premature aging |
Inflammatory bowel disease | Atherosclerosis |
Hypothyroidism | Anorexia |
Depression / anxiety | Grave’s disease |
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder | Heart arrhythmia |
Parkinson’s disease | Cancer |
Neurodegenerative conditions | Sideroblastic anemia |
Celiac disease | Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Excess dietary fructose is a primary initiator of NAFLD, but high iron is another culprit that triggers disease progression |
Restless leg syndrome | Liver damage and liver disease. Each year there are roughly 36,000 deaths from liver diseases and about 6,000 liver transplants. Most all of these cases are affected by excess iron, even in the absence of a hemochromatosis genotype4 |
Hair loss | Still’s disease |
Muscle weakness, decline in motor skills | Hemochromatosis |
Mental changes and memory loss | Hemophagocytic syndrome |
For more info, see: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/05/31/managing-iron-levels.aspx