iron overload question

[TJ24]

for years I took a multi with iron and lots of vitamin c. I recently switched to a multi without iron and reduced my vitamin C. My question is there anything I can take that removes excess iron from the body? there's gotta be some kind of vitamin, mineral, or herb that does

 

[fogg88]

Well, if you were a female, you'd be in luck, since they lose about 1.5mg a day during menstruation (through blood loss).

But really, don't sweat it. If you just got the iron from a multi (probably around 18mg a day?), you haven't done yourself any real harm. Sure, the general advice nowadays is to avoid suppplementary iron, which is fine for sedentary folk. But if you actually exercise and train, you've been doing a good job of using that extra iron all along. ... the iron is used in normal body processes, you can lose a little through perspiration, and you even lose some through compression hemolysis. (Intense muscular contraction can actually 'crush' red blood cells, so they must be replaced, which uses more iron.)

That's cool that you switched to a no-iron multi, but why did you drop the vitamin-C intake also? No reason to do that, unless you were taking ridiculously large doses.

 

[TJ24]

the multi I took had 10mg of iron and I was taking 3 grams of c a day I take 1 now cause I read c increases iron storage

 

[fogg88]

10mg is just about half the RDA for iron, and even with the help of vitamin-C, your body is lucky to actually absorb about 25% of that. Don't worry about the iron intake at all. Now that you've stopped taking it in your multi, get that vitamin-C back up to 3 grams a day! (split-up in divided doses, of course.)

 

[Bigass]

There is actually a genetic disorder called hemochromatosis where people absorb excess iron from their gut and it deposits in their organs (esp. the liver) and can even cause death. There is nothing you can take to remove iron from your body. The standard treatment for iron storage diseases like hemochromatosis is 'phlebotomy'...in orther words bleeding!!!

 

[TJ24]

I heard that ala removes it is that not true?

 

[fogg88]

I haven't heard of ALA having that effect. It could be true, but I honestly doubt it.

 

[ltiesto]

I'm not sure why you'd be looking to remove iron from the body. But for whatever reason, I don't think you have to be too concerned about intaking excess iron through supplementation. Non-heme iron is not readily absorbed, and if I recall correctly (which probably is not the case...) is limted at about 10%. This means that only 10% of any iron supplementation will be taken in. Calcium is a pseudo-inhibiter of iron, but again, supplementing with calcium is about as effective as absorbing protein from drinking beer. So ultimately I'd predict that you'll be ok either way - with, or without the iron in the daily.

 

[thx9000]

I heard that ala removes it is that not true?

I remember reading a study that suggested r-ALA may help remove excess iron from blood. I will look around on google and post it if I can find it...

 

[thx9000]

"ALA chelates numerous metals, including iron, copper, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury.5 This is considered to be part of its antioxidant activity. The health-supporting properties of ALA as a chelating agent have not yet been established in humans. One small clinical study showed that a specific branded form of ALA (Berlition 300) reduced blood serum iron content and increased urinary iron excretion in humans.[vi],[vii]"

[vi]. Kundiev I, Lubianova IP, Mikhilak OM, Dudchenko NO, Lampeka EG. Med Tr Prom Ekol [in Russian; English abstract]. 2001;1:14-18.
[vii]. Ou P, Tritschler HJ, Wolff SP. Biochem Pharmacol. 1995;501:123-126.