Chris Kink, 52, living in England, ate a bowl of cereal for breakfast when he was short of time on his way to work. Although it was noted how unhealthy breakfast cereals were, Chris did not know that these cereals were so harmful. Chris, who took an average of two bowls of cereal every day, started to feel bad because of the problems he was experiencing and consulted the doctor.
LIVER DAMAGE GETS GREATER
Chris says, “My hands and feet started to get really itchy, I couldn’t sleep, my energy levels were low, and I had gained some weight since I had recently quit smoking. So my doctor did a routine blood test. The results showed that there was a problem with my liver. I was told to come back six months later and when the same test was done my liver damage worsened. The doctor explained that he would be re-evaluated in half a year and would bring in a specialist if the problem persists.
FERRITIN LEVEL WAS CONSTANTLY INCREASING
As a result of special tests, Chris learned that the problem was not his weight, so an elimination process began. Chris continued: “One of his GPs explained that I consistently show high ferritin levels and these increase with each review of my biomarkers.
LIVER, STORING TOO MUCH IRON, IS POISONED
“They advised me to talk to my doctor, so I called 111 and explained that I had the same problem for five years. They told me to remove iron from my diet.” With many cereals containing 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance of iron, Chris’ liver was storing too much iron and was poisoning liver cells from eating too much of his favorite cereal.
EVERYONE THOUGHT THE PROBLEMS ARE DUE TO THEIR WEIGHT
After cutting them out and eliminating other iron-rich foods like spinach, Chris’s ferritin levels, who no longer suffer from his troubling symptoms, began to return to the normal category. “It’s frustrating but because I was fat everyone thought I had liver cirrhosis from obesity, so they didn’t take me seriously or investigate my problem properly,” added Chris.
TOO MUCH IRON CAN CAUSE RISKY SITUATIONS
“Too much iron in the body can lead to high blood ferritin levels. But high ferritin levels can be associated with infection or inflammation in the body, liver, kidney, and thyroid problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, high body mass index, as well as drinking too much alcohol.”
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF FERRITIN HEIGHT?
Symptoms such as heart palpitations, fatigue, exhaustion, chest pain, pain in the joints, weight loss, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, sexual reluctance and darkening of the skin color are seen in people with high ferritin levels.