Hemochromatosis can kill you dead if undetected.
What exactly is this malady I speak of?
It is a condition in which the body absorbs more iron from food than it needs. The extra iron is stored in and may damage the liver, heart, and pancreas. It may cause organ failure, cancer, heart problems, and liver disease. ...
Symptoms include:
Abdominal pain
Decreased sex drive or impotence.
Have you been feeling weak or tired all the time?
Do your joints hurt? Skin turning a bronze color?
Arthritis of the knuckles of the first and second fingers?
Cardiac problems (including abnormal heart rhythms
If so, you better alert your doctor. A complete physical must be performed. I know it's a bummer but better than kicking the bucket.
Your examination must include:
Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) and Serum Iron (SI).
Divide the SI by TIBC for percentage of Transferrin Saturation TS.
Normal range is: 12-45%.
The same blood may be used to measure Serum Ferritin.
Normal range: 5 to 150.
Mostly men contract the disease for some unclear reason. Probably due to normal iron loss during menstruation in women.
Usually around age 40. Individuals of European ancestry are much more likely to be carriers of what was until recently the only known gene to cause genetic hemochromatosis, than are people of other ethnic ancestries.
However, iron overload is common in people of African or Mexican descent as it is among Caucasians.
Your goal is to prevent liver cancer, heart attack or stroke. Do that by unloading stored iron as quickly as possible. Objective: ferritin below 10.
Any blood relatives must be tested and monitored yearly.
Iron will cross the blood brain barrier. Excess iron stored in the brain has been found to elevate severity in Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's, Parkinson's, MS, and other diseases. Iron in the brain also leads to psychological problems.
If you have any of the above symptoms, make an appointment with your primary care physician immediately. The longer you put off testing, the more damage to your liver will result if you have hemochromatosis.
Iron overload is most often present and silently causing problems long before you
notice any symptoms.
Serious consquences of untreated hemochromatosis can result in: arthritis, diabetes, depression, impotence, hypogonadism, gallbladder disease, cirrhosis and scarring of the liver, heart attack, cancer, and other life threatening ailments.
Limit red meat in your diet. Iron loaded vegetables are okay because the body doesn't absorb iron from plant sources so well.
Drink black, green, or oolong tea with meals. The tannin from tea helps curb iron absorption (herbal tea doesn't contain tannin). Cut all foods and snacks that have added iron.
Vitamin C supplements should be limited to less than 100 milligrams per day, because vitamin C promotes iron absorption. Use multivitamins that do not contain iron. Avoid raw oysters and shellfish like the plague, which may be tainted with bacteria that might be harmful, even deadly to someone with an iron overload.
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