I am seeing more and more Multis being sold specifically saying they do not contain Iron. My current two multis both have Iron and it got me thinking, is the Iron that is obtained from supplementation somehow more toxic than Iron recieved through diet?

I thought Iron deficiency was more of a problem than Iron excess. Kinda puzzling.

Per the Protein Power Lifeplan, our bodies hang on to iron pretty well and really don't need anymore--in fact having too much iron in your body can be very detrimental. Women get rid of excess iron when they menstruate, but it's suggested that men and post-menopausal women donate blood regularly to get the iron down.

Oops! Does this mean that the next multivitamin I pick up should be WITHOUT IRON? I had no idea Iron was such a hard pest to get rid of.

Men shouldn't take multis with iron. Giving blood occasionally is a good idea, too, to keep the iron levels from building up.

What about meat? I mean meat has a lot of blood still in it, so doesn't eating meat increase your body's iron reserves? Especially red meat? What a shocker! I had no idea iron was so hard to get rid of.

Supposedly the iron found in meat (heme iron, I believe) doesn't accumulate the same way. There is a really nice write up in the Drs. Eades' Protein Power LifePlan book, if you have access to it.

I am gunna dump my ironed multis then. I can't believe this, 90% of multis are poisoning people with at least one metal. Mind boggling.

That was my understanding as well -- The iron in most supplements builds up in the body - the iron in food does not build up.

I'm not sure if the iron in a multi-vitamin is somehow more toxic than the iron in food, but I do know that it can build up sometimes. I don't think men should be taking multi-vitamins with iron in them at all.

Furthermore, there are a lot of people who unknowingly begin to accumulate too much iron because of genetics. Unfortunately, many people don't ever find this out, and they develop things like diabetes, heart disease and cancer as a result of an overload of iron - the iron begins to harm their organs. Even things like thryoid issues can be caused by excess iron. Meanwhile, it's these disorders/diseases that are treated, and the iron problem isn't always discovered in time to prevent these issues. Unfortunately, an iron-panel isn't part of a routine physical exam (not part of the regular panel of blood tests that are done), and so consequently - iron levels can begin to accumulate for a long time before the excess is discovered.

Ironically (pun intended), the symptoms of iron overload mimic the symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia. Pretty severe fatigue. Next is stuff like joint pains and a peculiar change in one's skintone (advanced iron overload causes a noticeable 'bronzing' of skin).

Fortunately, iron overload is treatable, and very effectively so (provided it's caught in time before the iron harms the organs) by regular blood donation. In fact, the 'treatment' for iron overload is a schedule of up to twice-weekly phlebotomies if the iron level is very high. The goal is to offload the iron as quickly as possible, in order to prevent serious complications. If a case of iron overload is discovered fairly early, then the problem can be resolved with just a few phlebotomies.

Another thing to consider is the fact that the standard diet is fairly high in iron, since most grains and cereals etc. are 'fortified' with iron. Thankfully, those of us on a LC eating plan won't be eating a whole lot of 'extra' iron in the form of refined carbohydrates.

Um...personally I don't think anyone should take multi-vitamins with iron in them at all. Not unless their doctor has specifically recommended them because of a potential anemia. There's a lot of iron in red meat, spinach, shrimp, all kinds of stuff, so I can't imagine a scenario in which too many people would be 'iron-deficient' unless they had a lot of blood loss for some reason.

If you're curious - look up 'iron overload' and 'hemochromatosis' - interesting stuff there about excess iron.

I went to the doctor a few months ago, complaining of severe fatigue. Turns out my iron saturation was at 70%, and iron saturation for pre-menopausal women should never be over 40% maximum. Luckily, one messy phlebotomy did the trick. As did ditching my vitamins. My multi had iron in it, and I was taking 1,000mg or more daily of Vitamin C to combat my flagging energy levels. In addition, the "Super B-complex" I was taking also had a bunch of Vitamin C in it. Of course, the multi had vitamin C in it too.

Turns out that Vitamin C greatly increases the absorption of iron. Now, this is nothing to worry about if you don't have an iron overload - but if you do, or you have had this situation, then you *don't* want to be taking supplemental Vitamin C either.

Anyway, just throwing out a few bits of info.

Get rid of your multi-vitamin with iron in it.

I will never buy Iron in a supplement again. For some reason Calcium and Magnesium seem to be at very low levels in higher quality vitamins...thats OK with me because I get my Calcium from Bonemeal anyway. Any other minerals that just should not be in a multi? Copper maybe? I presume Chromium, Zinc and Manganese are OK.

One more thing, I never buy a multi with Retinol Palmitate now, only Beta Carotene. But this iron overload deal is shocking. I will have to research into this iron panel test and see where I can get one done.

i think it's about time iron was optional in multis. my mother has a genetic condition called hemochromotosis... in laymen's terms, her body does not process iron effectively. MOST humans have the ability to only absorb X-amount of iron, but people with this disease don't have that built in mechanism to prevent over-absorption.

again, this is a genetic disorder... it's not a menopausal disorder! it may SEEM that way because although the disease is present from birth, the symptoms don't start until about the time a woman goes through menopause... between 40 and 60 years old. it is relatively common in people of scottish or irish descent, and she is of both.

fortunately my mother was diagnosed prior to any organ damage was done. in order to prevent organ damage, she has to be blood-let every three to four months... they take a pint of blood.. and no, she is not eligible to be an organ donor.' EDIT: i mean she's not eligible to be a BLOOD donor. she can donate organs, but her blood is discarded.

too much iron in the blood causes the same initial symptoms as too LITTLE iron (anemia). fatigue, dizziness, etc. among the complications it can cause are heart failure and cirrhosis of the liver. the liver is the most targeted organ in the body by this condition, and about 30% of all hemochromotosis sufferers develop liver cancer.

I think it's a good idea to avoid supplemental iron, especially if you're male.

That said, don't get too alarmed. If you don't have the H63D gene or the C282Y mutation, you're not likely to experience iron 'overload'.

Furthermore, genetic testing isn't really necessary, unless someone in your family turns up with something like 'hemochromatosis', in which case, it is wise for family members to at least have their iron levels tested.

I'm no 'vitamin expert', but I did have a scary experience in which my iron levels built up shockingly high, and I began to experience some very noticeable physical symptoms as a result. That's the only reason I'm writing about it in here. Just something I think people should be aware of.

I went to the doctor thinking there was maybe something wrong with my thyroid, and luckily the doctor's office was sharp enough to decide to test my iron levels too - but I think they were looking for an iron deficiency, since that's what most people think of when a woman complains of fatigue. Mine turns up way high, and not low. Thyoid was fine.

I'd never heard of iron overload or hemochromatosis until the day I went in for blood test results, expecting to hear that there was something wrong with my thyroid. Nope, it was some other weird thing, something that I'd never even heard of.

I'm just glad I got rid of it before it did damage to my organs. Now, I'll just have to have my iron levels tested every three months or so to see how fast I load iron, if at all. My doctor thinks it was all the vitamins. I dunno about that, but we'll see.

By the way, you don't necessarily need the full iron panel if you wanted to find out if your iron was high or low. Just a simple 'serum iron' as part of some other blood tests would be fine. From there, if it were too high or too low, then they'd order the full 'blood iron panel' to see exactly what's going on.

Anyway, no need to get alarmed about this. You asked a very good question...'why?' about this idea that more and more companies are selling 'no-iron' multis. Excellent question, actually.

if a person has hemochromotosis, they have to avoid red meat and other iron rich foods.

it's actually a recessive genetic condition.... it can only be passed down if BOTH parents have it. which is a really good thing for me, because my dad didn't have it!

This is interesting to me, because we don't know if I actually have it yet. We do know that I turned up with 'high iron' (iron saturation 70%). I did some research, and found that some people are 'carriers' (meaning they don't have the full gene), but that in some cases, these people can 'load' iron too. But, I do get what you're saying - you won't have full-blown hemochromatosis unless both parents have one or more of the genes. Meanwhile, it is possible for people who are just 'carriers' to load iron.

I read a statistic somewhere (don't have all my research in front of me) that showed 33% of Irish Americans having one or both genes. That's pretty darn high.

I don't think my Dad has it either. That said, he hasn't had the genetic testing done - just his iron levels are fine. My Mom's are actually low. Weird.

Anyway, sorry to take this off the topic of multi-vitamins and into a not-so-well-known genetic disorder here...

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