Too much iron can damage the liver, heart or pancreas…
To know if you have too much iron or not enough, you measure ferritin, an essential protein that stores and regulates iron in the body. This ferritin level must be neither too low (the body needs it!), nor too high because an excess of ferritin can damage several organs (liver, heart, pancreas) and reveal several diseases or health problems (diabetes, heart or liver diseases, etc.). This generally manifests itself through non-specific symptoms such as significant fatigue, joint or abdominal pain or hair loss.The best is to stay within the norms defined by a ferritin level of less than 200 micrograms/L in men and 125 micrograms/L in women (non-menopausal). Beyond that, you should be monitored by a doctor.“, warns Aurélie Tetzlaff, dietician-nutritionist. To lower a ferritin level that is too high, several methods are possible:
► Limit your consumption of iron-rich foods such as red meats (beef, liver, pork, black pudding and lamb) to a maximum of 2-3 portions per week (less if your ferritin level is very high).
► Increase your consumption of antioxidant foods (mainly very colorful fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, carrots and red fruits such as strawberries), rich in calcium (dairy products), polyphenols (citrus fruits, pomegranate, etc.), fiber (lentils, quinoa, etc.) and phytates (brown rice, buckwheat, almonds, walnuts) which “are “iron chelators”: they are able to capture excess iron“, says the dietician-nutritionist.
► Donate blood once or twice a year”from 100-125 micrograms/L, since red blood cells are loaded with hemoglobin which contains significant iron reserves, indicates Dr. Joseph Mercola in his book “Health through fat” (ed. Guy Trédaniel). If your condition allows, donating blood reduces the ferritin level by about 30 to 50 micrograms/L.
► Exercise: Regular exercise leads to a decrease in ferritin. Similarly, “Losing weight lowers ferritin levels if the increase is related to metabolic syndrome, overweight or obesity“.
► Limit (or even stop) alcohol consumption: ferritin levels decrease by 50% within 15 days of stopping all alcoholic beverages.
► Therapeutic bloodletting (blood withdrawal by puncture) in cases of hemochromatosis, a genetic disease which manifests itself by excessive absorption and storage of iron in different tissues, notably the liver or the pancreas.
► Take oral iron chelators in case of anemia linked to the abnormal decrease in red blood cells (which makes bloodletting impossible). It is the doctor who will decide whether or not to prescribe them depending on the origin of the hyperferritinemia and the level.
Ferritin testing involves a blood test that should ideally be performed on an empty stomach. Only a doctor is authorized to interpret your blood test results. The ferritin level should be interpreted taking into account other tests (serum iron, transferrin, TIBC, iron saturation, hemoglobin and hematocrit for example).