For more than seventy years, the North American public, as well as bureaucrats, have been enamored with the Popeye-the-sailor myth, namely, that ingested iron can somehow overcome fatigue and confer strength. During the same time period, however, numerous scientists and medical practitioners have learned to fear, rather than praise, iron. It is now overwhelmingly apparent that iron loading is a serious risk factor for scores of diseases—an array of cardiovascular disorders: endocrine problems such as diabetes and impotence; neurological ills such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s: arthritis and osteoporosis, cancers of lung, colon, liver, and skin; nearly all bacterial and fungal infections; and shortened lifespan.

Iron is an essential trace element, but not a safe one. This information is extremely important for people in advocacy groups such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart, and neurodegenerative disorders. Unfortunately, clever marketing and bureaucratic intransigence have trumped science. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the consumer to select processed foods that have not been deliberately adulterated with troublesome quantities of iron.

Iron is an essential trace element with many important functions in human physiology. In North America, hundreds of thousands of people, predominantly women during menstruation, suffer from “iron deficiency anemia.” Although not usually fatal, iron deficiency anemia is reputed to be one of the leading causes of sickness and debility among North American pre-menopausal women.

Because iron deficiency anemia is so common in the target population (menstruating women), public health officials have promoted the addition of iron to many of the most commonly consumed foods, i.e., nutrition supplements, flour, breads, pastas, and breakfast cereals. Despite this practice, iron deficiency anemia remains prevalent in the people who are supposed to be helped by the fortification programs.

In addition to its important function in carrying oxygen, iron is a critical element in numerous enzymes, where it promotes normal metabolism. Iron is also important in the iron-sulfur clusters that facilitate transport of electrons in mitochondria. However, iron deficiency is not known to affect levels of iron-sulfur clusters or enzymes, unless the deficiency is very severe.

Although essential to life, iron is a very toxic metal. Most people are familiar with the highly publicized toxic metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, manganese, aluminum, and arsenic. However, few people know that iron is responsible for a great deal more sickness and death than all of these other toxic metals combined!

We have been mesmerized into thinking that iron is somehow different from other metals, simply because it is essential.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for iron for women from 19 years to 50 years is 18 mg/day; for pregnant women it is 27 mg/day, and during lactation, 10 mg/day. The RDA for all other adults is 8 mg/day. The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for dietary iron is 45 mg/day.

According to the Food and Nutrition Board, one half of ingested iron comes from fortified foods, although this may be an under-estimation. Some cereals contain 24 mg iron per 1-cup serving. Most grain products have varying amounts of iron added—this means virtually all flour, all pastas, all bread, all cereals. Iron supplements commonly sold over the counter contain from 15 mg to around 60 mg iron according to the label-recommended daily intake. It is easy to see how millions of people in North America are daily consuming more than the UL for iron. Companies are allowed to fortify foods with more than the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) in a single serving.

Studies have demonstrated that we ordinarily absorb around 15% of the iron that we consume. A person consuming a daily diet containing approximately 15 mg of iron are excreted each day. Children are reported to absorb less iron than adults—around 10%. Pregnant women absorb more—around 17%.

Although only a small percentage of the iron that we consume is absorbed, many factors affect iron absorption. For instance, heme iron is very efficiently absorbed. High heme iron consumption has been correlated with the development of breast cancer. Also, iron absorption can be increased considerably when it is held in the iron 2+ form as it is in the supplements that have combined iron with vitamin C. Iron/vitamin C supplements that have combined iron with vitamin C. Iron/vitamin C supplements containing far more than the daily UL for iron are freely sold in spite of their clear danger to human health. Viton-C, for example, contains around 60 mg iron in a single pill as the recommended daily intake. These supplements are very likely the most dangerous “nutritional” supplements ever conceived. Beware!

IRON IS A CUMULATIVE TOXIN

The inability to excrete iron is the primary problem—we can excrete only around 1.2 mg per day, no matter how much we absorb. Once iron has been absorbed in excess of the body’s need, it is very difficult to remove it. Much of the excess will be stored in the liver in ferritin. When ferritin is saturated, hemosiderin is released into the liver and can lead to all of the damaging effects of iron to liver cells.

The iron that we consume that is in excess of the amount we absorb is carried through the intestines and excreted in the feces. This iron can be very dangerous because it can exist in free form and generate oxygen radicals resulting in intestinal damage and colon cancer. Colon cancer has been induced in laboratory animals given large excesses of iron. Certain food factors can prevent this kind of damage—in particular phytates that are abundant in plant food.

Iron: The Most Toxic Metal Paperback – January 1, 2008

by Jym Moon PhD (Author)