Body Iron Overload Can Cause Harm And Is Fatal! Could Be A Cause of Type 1 Diabetes (Video).

After looking around the web this afternoon I stumbled upon an article about iron overload and the harm it can cause. In the news you hear a lot about iron deficency but I have never heard of having iron overload also called Hemochromatosis. This illness can be very serious and shouldn’t be overlooked! Women and men of all ages can both have severe iron overload but it is mostly seen in men and postmenopausal women. Why is that? Every month, a woman of childbearing age loses approximately 15 mg of iron through menstruation. This means that these women are less likely to form iron overload. Now men on the other hand really need to watch out. We all know men love their red meat and alcohol. Okay…that’s sterotypical but for the one’s out their that do please read on.

Aside from type 1 diabetes, it is far more common for high iron levels to cause cancer and heart attacks.  Men would benefit from donating their blood at least one to six times per year, depending on their iron overload status. If you are a man, donating your blood can actually do you more good than anyone else who might receive it (mercola.com)

Iron is nature’s rusting agent. Having an excessive level of iron in your body is one of the most potent ways that your body oxidizes, or prematurely ages. Oxidation is what happens to most metals that are exposed, unprotected, to the elements. Yet, oxygen has an amazing duality. Without the proper levels, we can’t sustain life, but with too much oxygen aging is accelerated. This results in a constant tension as our bodies deal with too much or too little oxygen, and struggle to regain balance with the correct amount needed to optimize our health (mercola.com)

Most men have a problem with too much iron because it is not readily excreted through the body’s usual methods of elimination such as urine, bile and sweat. It is important to understand the two primary ways men lose iron:

• Shedding of cells from the skin or gastrointestinal tract
• Chronic or sudden blood loss

This is what can cause iron overload:

One of the most common causes of excess iron is the regular consumption of alcohol. Alcohol consumed on a regular basis will increase the absorption of any iron in your diet. If you are a man who consumes alcohol, rest assured that it will increase your ability to absorb iron at your meals (mercola.com)

• Cooking in iron pots or pans. Cooking acidic foods in these types of pots or pans will cause even higher levels of iron absorption.

• Eating processed food products like cereals and white breads that are “fortified’ with iron. The iron they use in these products is inorganic iron not much different than rust and it is far more dangerous than the iron in meat.

• Drinking well water that is high in iron. The key here is to make sure you have some type of iron precipitator and/or a reverse osmosis water filter.

• Taking multiple vitamins and mineral supplements, as both of these frequently have iron in them.

Best option!

Donate your blood, avoid red meat and alcohol, and juice green vegetables.

Here is a video below that explains everything you need to know about iron overload:

Here are some of resources that I used below and some articles that I highly reccomend everyone to read. I only convered the basics on iron overload but if you’re serious about the health of yourself or your loved ones read these articles below:

Resource for this article:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/12/15/iron-levels-blood.aspx

Must read: http://drlwilson.com/articles/IRON.htm

Scientific study associated with iron overload and type 1 diabetes: 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11705485

Increase risk of heart attacks with iron overload: 

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/02/iron-overload-disorder-increases-heart-attack-risk.aspx

What your diet should look like when having iron overload: 

http://www.hemochromatosishelp.com/hemochromatosis-diet.html

Stay groovy and iron aware!

Sincerely,

Radical Rose

http://radicalrose.wordpress.com