American doctors have been trained to relentlessly check patients for anemia, but most older people may have too much iron in their bodies rather than too little.
Nearly 13% of volunteers checked as part of an ongoing heart disease study had too much iron, while only 3% had low stores putting them at risk of anemia.
Having too much iron in the blood can put people at risk of
cancer diabetes heart disease
Several studies have shown that people in industrialized nations who regularly donate blood, thus depleting iron stores somewhat, have a lower risk of heart attack.
Older people eating a standard Western diet, which is rich in red meat and thus in iron, seem to get plenty of iron.
Supplements that contain extra iron may be dangerous.
I have warned about the dangers of iron many times before in this newsletter. It is a potentially dangerous supplement and it needs to be used very cautiously, especially in those with an increased risk of heart disease. I almost always run a serum ferritin level on someone before I recommend going on iron.
Ferritin is an iron carrying protein and when its levels drop below 20 that is a sign of iron deficiency. I have seen ferritin levels as low as 2. Occasionally ferritin will be greater than 20 and the person still may need iron. Those with inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, will have falsely elevated ferritin levels.
Men are more prone to iron overload since women lose some iron every month through menstruation. Donating blood is an excellent way to lower iron levels if needed.
The best form of iron, if it is required, is that obtained from red meat, as it is the most highly available form for absorption.
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