26 replies to this topic

[rwac]

Since there's no real mechanism to get rid of iron from the body, some of us end up with excess iron that can't be gotten rid of easily.

Here's a few supplements to chelate iron:

Coffee/Tea inhibit absorption of iron from food.[1]

Curcumin chelates iron [2]

IP6 chelates iron [3]


1. http://www.ajcn.org/.../37/3/416.short

2. http://www.sciencedi...891584905006970
More on curcumin here: http://gotdownsyndro...cumin-iron.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/15345806

3. http://www.sciencedi...300483X07008517

[pycnogenol]

Supposedly, EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid) removes excess iron. I've yet to try it.

[david ellis]

Since there's no real mechanism to get rid of iron from the body, some of us end up with excess iron that can't be gotten rid of easily.

There is a real mechanism that is simple, quick and cheap plus earns you the gratitude of others. Donate blood. Use ferritin levels to guide how much donation is needed.

[rwac]

There is a real mechanism that is simple, quick and cheap plus earns you the gratitude of others. Donate blood. Use ferritin levels to guide how much donation is needed.

That's a great idea, except that I have had babesiosis (no formal diagnosis, but still) and can't donate blood because of it.

[Dorian Grey]

If your ferritin/free iron is at all high, you might ask your doc to prescribe some "therapeutic phlebotomy"...

This is done for those with Hemochromatosis. It's like a blood donation but they just pitch the blood down the hopper. I should be a simple office procedure but I suppose if they don't do blood draws in the doctors office you may be referred to a clinic for treatment.

It usually takes a few 500cc draws done over a period of months.

Too bad they don't do "bloodletting" at the barber shop anymore... The red stripe spiraling down the old barber's pole signs use to indicate: "we do bloodletting here"!

Or perhaps leeches would be another option?

Edited by synesthesia, 15 October 2011 - 05:50 PM.

[nameless]

I recall FunkOdyssey stating IP6 really lowering his ferritin levels a lot -- so much so, that he had to stop IP6. Anyone here ever do a before and after while taking IP6?

Interesting about babesiosis, as I didn't realize it was an exclusion for donating blood. Not that I have donated, as I expected my blood to be less that ideal due to some past infections. I tested positive for Babesia a while ago (or at least have Babesia Duncani antibodies floating about)... so I guess donating blood isn't such a good idea for me.

[rwac]

If your ferritin/free iron is at all high, you might ask your doc to prescribe some "therapeutic phlebotomy"...

This is done for those with Hemochromatosis. It's like a blood donation but they just pitch the blood down the hopper. I should be a simple office procedure but I suppose if they don't do blood draws in the doctors office you may be referred to a clinic for treatment.

I've heard that therapeutic phlebotomy is pretty expensive and many people prefer to just donate blood and not tell them about the hemochromatosis at all.

[Dorian Grey]

Therapeutic phlebotomy should be dirt cheap unless the medical profession has found a way to make this into more than it really is.

Any nurse should be able to do it with just an 18 gauge needle, a "K-50 IV extension" and a bag to collect the blood in. You could do it at home if you could get sterile supplies and someone who has been trained to hit a vein properly. (Just remember to stop at 500cc's!)

Edited by synesthesia, 16 October 2011 - 06:18 AM.

[albedo]

My recent blood test revealed an increased level of iron (while ferritin looks normal). I am taking curcumin, recently introduced IP6 for other reasons and drinking tea. I am checking for hemochromatosis and soon retest to see if there is an effect on my iron and will report here. Thank you for bringing this up.

[albedo]

I forgot to add I avoid taking vitamin C supplements during meals as I recollect having read it can increase iron absorption from foods.

[rwac]

Also some autism websites claim that TTFD (allithiamine) will chelate iron, but I haven't seen a link to a paper or anything like that.

[albedo]

Wonder if benfotiamine can then also do something. Just a thought, no paper, no link too.

[Dorian Grey]

It's amazing how many foods are "fortified" with iron now days... I've heard there is so much iron in breakfast cereals you can pick up the box with a strong magnet. One guy tried mashing up some corn flakes in water and dragging a magnet through the mash. The magnet comes up coated with a thin layer of iron filings on it.

Yes... the iron added to foods is literally fine iron dust!

Cast iron cookware and iron grills and griddles in restaurants adds iron to foods too. And your daily bread? Again, fortified with IRON!

Every "complete" vitamin/mineral supplement contains iron... Doctors and supplement makers know you don't need it, but you can't call it "complete" without putting iron in it!

If I was paranoid, I'd think this was some kind of conspiracy to kill off all the boomers and be rid of them before they bankrupt the nation with their retirement needs.

Absolute madness!

[elicar]

Can someone tell me if curcumin can actually decrease iron too much and how i can avoid that action of curcumin if i still don't want to quit taking it ? My iron has been on the low side for quite some time (although i'm quite the beef eater) without knowing why and it seems now i found a reason for this.
I take one spoonfull of curcuma powder every day.

[Dorian Grey]

Can someone tell me if curcumin can actually decrease iron too much and how i can avoid that action of curcumin if i still don't want to quit taking it ? My iron has been on the low side for quite some time (although i'm quite the beef eater) without knowing why and it seems now i found a reason for this.
I take one spoonfull of curcuma powder every day.

Alcohol and vitamin C increase iron absorption... Have a glass of red wine with your beef and drop a half gram of C with your meal and you should up your iron levels.

Careful what you wish for tho... Having your iron "on the low side" may be a blessing in disguise.

[mikeinnaples]

I am on the low side with my iron levels (sorry no exact numbers as I dont have the labwork in front of me at the office) and have never gone anemic. I donate blood regularly and I take 500mg IP6, Monday through Friday, and have been for years.

[niner]

If your ferritin/free iron is at all high, you might ask your doc to prescribe some "therapeutic phlebotomy"...

This is done for those with Hemochromatosis. It's like a blood donation but they just pitch the blood down the hopper. I should be a simple office procedure but I suppose if they don't do blood draws in the doctors office you may be referred to a clinic for treatment.

I've heard that therapeutic phlebotomy is pretty expensive and many people prefer to just donate blood and not tell them about the hemochromatosis at all.

The last time I gave blood, they had a mechanism for doing donations "for show". For example, if you were HIV positive, but didn't want your coworkers to know, there was a box you'd check off on the form that told them to draw your blood as normal, but not use it. This was probably 15 years ago, so I don't know if they still do that or not. Maybe there are things they could use blood for where a possible infection wouldn't matter. Research or something?

[MrHappy]

Methylene blue might be good for babesiosis?

[MrHappy]

Hey - here's an easy one. Go to your doc and ask for STD or general nutritional / serum blood tests - you'll end up giving a few hundred mL and learn something at the same time.

[david ellis]

My recent blood test revealed an increased level of iron (while ferritin looks normal). I am taking curcumin, recently introduced IP6 for other reasons and drinking tea. I am checking for hemochromatosis and soon retest to see if there is an effect on my iron and will report here. Thank you for bringing this up.

I had the same thing, high serum iron and normal ferritin. My doctor wasn't concerned. She said that the conversion to ferritin was slow and could take a week, That sounded reasonable to me because I had eaten a large serving of spinach.

[albedo]

My recent blood test revealed an increased level of iron (while ferritin looks normal). I am taking curcumin, recently introduced IP6 for other reasons and drinking tea. I am checking for hemochromatosis and soon retest to see if there is an effect on my iron and will report here. Thank you for bringing this up.

I had the same thing, high serum iron and normal ferritin. My doctor wasn't concerned. She said that the conversion to ferritin was slow and could take a week, That sounded reasonable to me because I had eaten a large serving of spinach.

Interesting thank you! I might have had the same stuff.

[david ellis]

Since there's no real mechanism to get rid of iron from the body, some of us end up with excess iron that can't be gotten rid of easily.

Here's a few supplements to chelate iron:

Coffee/Tea inhibit absorption of iron from food.[1]

Curcumin chelates iron [2]

IP6 chelates iron [3]

Rosemary can be added to the list of chelates.

[CQW]

 

If your ferritin/free iron is at all high, you might ask your doc to prescribe some "therapeutic phlebotomy"...

This is done for those with Hemochromatosis. It's like a blood donation but they just pitch the blood down the hopper. I should be a simple office procedure but I suppose if they don't do blood draws in the doctors office you may be referred to a clinic for treatment.

I've heard that therapeutic phlebotomy is pretty expensive and many people prefer to just donate blood and not tell them about the hemochromatosis at all.

 

 

Hemochromatosis blood, generally, has toxic levels of iron in it. Reconsider who's recieving the blood donation?

[rwac]

Hemochromatosis blood, generally, has toxic levels of iron in it. Reconsider who's recieving the blood donation?

 

 

Yes, I'm told you can call afterwards and have your blood discarded anonymously. Actually I haven't donated blood ever, so this is theoretical.

[Dorian Grey]

The FDA has never prohibited Hemochromatosis blood from entering the donation pool, but they do have a labeling requirement...  

 

http://www.fda.gov/B.../DonatingBlood/

 

Questions about Individuals Diagnosed with Hemochromatosis and Blood Donations

 

Is it true that individuals diagnosed with hemochromatosis can now donate?

 

"FDA has always allowed individuals diagnosed with hemochromatosis to donate blood. However, FDA is now allowing variances to the requirements that blood establishments 1) label such blood with the donor's disorder, and 2) have a physician examine the donor at the time of donation if less than eight weeks has passed since the previous donation. These variances are specific for individuals with hereditary hemochromatosis".

-----------------------------------------------------

So no worries about poisoning anyone with your high iron blood.  Phlebotomy is good for both the patient and the donor, even when iron is elevated.

Edited by synesthesia, 28 September 2014 - 09:37 PM.

[albedo]

The link of iron metabolism and longevity:

 

"Mendelian randomisation of iron traits. We hypothesised that
the effect of haem metabolism and chemical homeostasis on
healthspan, parental lifespan, and longevity may be mediated
through the bioavailability of iron and investigated this hypothesis
using MR of GWAS summary statistics of iron-related traits,
i.e., serum iron, log ferritin, and transferrin (percentage saturation
and absolute levels), against our GWAS results."

 

Timmers, P.R.H.J., Wilson, J.F., Joshi, P.K. et al. Multivariate genomic scan implicates novel loci and haem metabolism in human ageing. Nat Commun 11, 3570 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1...467-020-17312-3

https://www.nature.c...-17312-3#citeas

 

Pooled Genome-Wide Data Analysis Finds Link Between Blood Iron Levels and Aging

 

I also suggest to check caffeine (as a chelator) but also your hemoglobin trend (I noticed a small drop, still in the normal range) after combining IF (intermittent fasting) with caffeine and IP6.

[Logic]

"...hepcidin, it reduces systemic iron by reducing intestinal uptake, reducing the release from the reticulo-endothelium..."
https://www.ncbi.nlm...cles/PMC308925/

"...we demonstrated that icariin and berberine were potent stimulators of hepcidin...

Although berberine exhibited a robust capacity to promote hepcidin expression in vitro, it failed to alter hepcidin expression in mice. Taken together, the findings of the present study suggest that icariin exhibits a robust capacity to increase hepatic hepcidin expression and to modulate systemic iron homeostasis..."
https://www.spandido.../ijmm.2016.2545