Iron causes aging, don't take iron supplements

Yes, when you go to buy multivitamins/multiminerals, buy those without iron. There is all sorts of evidence that iron accelerates aging and contributes to heart disease and diabetes. So, never buy supplements containing iron, just eat more beans and lentils.

Quoting Dr. George Obikoya (http://www.vitamins-nutrition.org/vitamins/iron-overdose.html):

"Iron excess is a greater risk than iron deficiency for many older Americans. In a study of more than 1,000 white men and women aged 67 to 96 who live at home, 13 percent had too much iron in their blood, but only three percent had too little.

Iron is not excreted. The iron you absorb stays and accumulates in storage except that you can lose one milligram a day through hair, finger nails, skin cells and other detritus. That is the amount needed every day to replace the loss. One milligram, that’s all and for women in reproductive years, one and a half milligram. The other way to lose iron, of course, is by blood loss.

The other thing to note is that hemoglobin is not iron! Yes, you are anemic if your hemoglobin is low but that does not necessarily mean your iron is low. Indeed, what might be happening is that the iron is collecting in storage instead of going into hemoglobin. You are actually iron-loaded and need iron removed despite the anemia. The anemia should be treated with B vitamins, especially B12, B6 and folic acid. Many patients with anemia are dying of iron overload, and some are hastened to their death by their physicians who give them more iron.

Even a small amount of excess iron can damage heart and brain and other storage sites in the body and lead to heart attack or stroke. There is exaggerated concern when hemoglobin falls temporarily, following surgery, for example. Blood transfusions are over-used. A study shows that surgery patients who do not receive transfusions survive better than those who do.

Excess stored iron can lead to atherosclerosis and ischemic heart disease. Phlebotomy, or blood removal, has been used to reduce stored iron in patients with iron overload with some success. Iron chelation with drugs such as desferrioxamine (Desferal) that help patients excrete excess stores of iron can be helpful in treating iron overload caused by multiple blood transfusions.

Men and postmenopausal women don't need the 18 milligrams of iron in most multivitamin/mineral supplements. Unless your doctor says you're low in iron, look for a brand with zero milligrams."

Here is a link for you to a multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplement that contains no iron.

I just went to Bartell Drugs the other day because I ran out of multivitamins, and every bottle I looked at contained a lethal dose of 100% of iron! It took my a while to find a brand that didn't contain extra iron. That was one brand out of like 25 popular choices! It could almost be a conspiracy to get people who want to stay healthy sick through poisonous vitamins!

Just to be on a safe side, check your vitamins' bottle label, then, it it contains a bunch of iron, go donate some blood, a lot!