This makes me think about all those "quacks" a few centuries ago who used to have leeches suck the blood out of sick people. They were right!

I just looked at my cereal box a few minutes ago(my recent carboholic vice) and I noticed each serving has 25% of the RDA of Iron. There were 18 total servings, 450% per cereal box, and I used to eat almost half a box per bowl!

Oh well, no more "fortified" cereals for me again, ever.

So true about the 'quacks' - they really were right on this one.

Speaking of iron, from the back cover of a new book I just got (haven't started reading it yet), called "Twinkie, Deconstructed" by Steve Ettlinger:

Ok so can most people get rid of excess iron pretty easily? Or...is every single human on earth going to suffer organ damage if they take 3 or 4 times the RDA of Iron through supplements and fortified foods? I am still not 100% clear on that...can nobody at all escape the menace by virtue of their makeup?

Most people have no problem with iron levels. Seriously.

That said, men don't have the means to offload iron as easily as women do, for obvious reasons. So, in this respect, I don't think men should be taking multi-vitamins with iron in them.

The propensity to load iron is a genetic disorder. Things like 'hemochromatosis' were once thought to be relatively rare, but because of newly-developed gentic testing available since 1996, we're realizing that the tendency to load iron is a lot more common than previously realized. In fact, it's the most common genetic disorder in North America.

All of that said - there isn't anything for you to really worry about. You asked a very, very good question - this 'why?' in terms of more and more companies offering multivitamins *without* iron.

Iron-fortified multi-vitamins are not such a great thing. There's a whole lot of iron in our diets, and we aren't really in any danger of iron deficiency. So, in this respect, why take extra?

Again, no need to worry. Just that the extra iron is not necessary, especially for men, and therefore - it might be a really good idea to switch to a multivitamin without iron.

Phew ok, I guess I will not toss the multis I have now and just use them up but the next one will be iron free or "low iron" depending on what is on the shelves.

Method,

The multis that are advertized to the elderly (Silver) have no iron. I take a generic equivalent of the Centrum Silver. I think that my diet gives me the vitamins that I need, so I take a multi everyother day.

Hi I am knew to the forum but I saw this discussion and was curious about it as well. I rep for a company that is in the health and wellness field and I went on to the website and asked the question about iron and here is the response I got back.

"Because of the large number of iron-fortified foods, most people receive sufficient iron from their diets. For example, one cup of a toasted oat cereal product contains 45% of the RDA for iron. In addition, some people are unable to take iron supplements because of a particular medical condition. By not including iron, we have made it possible for these people to receive the benefits of these products.
It is simply not possible to provide a supplement with adequate iron for those who need substantial amounts, without providing too much for all those who do not need the extra. Iron supplementation is best handled separately for those who specifically need it and can be taken in conjunction with the USANA products. For best absorption however, avoid taking iron supplement concurrently with a calcium supplement. Calcium and Iron supplements should be taken at different times during the day."

Hope this helps.