Blood Iron Surplus - Anyone?

[ultravista]

During a recent physical, my Dr. advised me that my blood iron content was a bit high - 240 mcg/dL with a normal range of 50-180 mcg/dL. Most everything else is good, including liver fat.

I do not consume much red meat, maybe once every two weeks, and can't figure out where the surplus of Iron is coming from. Pork and chicken are my go to meats.

In full disclosure, I told my Dr. that I brew my own beer and consume in moderation (at least to me ..). She suggested that I reduce alcohol and moderate my diet. No other suggestions.

Anyone else have higher than 'normal' Iron in their blood for homebrewed beer or beer consumption in general?

 

[1977Brewer]

Do you eat a lot of green veggies. Green veggies have a on of iron too. Every Doctor in the world is going to think you need to moderate your drinking. Jerks.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

Not a very good doctor if they can't explain where increased iron in your blood would come from.

I assume you are a male, your significant other isn't trying to poison you with iron supplements (men do not ever need iron intake, women do need iron supplements due to increase blood loss to the monthly visitor). Doctors will always give you the boiler plate "drink less" response. If your increase iron content from your blood was from homebrewing you would notice it in the taste of your beer. Does your normal tap water turn shower curtains bright red/orange? Do you have a lot of mineral build up on your faucets and shower heads? Are you on well water in an area with high iron content?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Every Doctor in the world is going to tell you to moderate your drinking.

And after work they'll go straight to a pub for pitcher and a pack of smokes.

 

[IslandLizard]

That little episode with the Doc. sucks. No real evidence or clue where the extra iron comes from, so taking a wild guess at it, see if it works? Why would iron come from beer? Could it be your water or supply lines perhaps?

Do your own research first and see what can cause those elevated levels. Then tackle those.

I'm not a doctor (or a lawyer).

 

[ruralbrew]

Give blood on a regular basis and that will take care of the excess iron.

 

[1977Brewer]

That little episode with the Doc. sucks. No real evidence or clue where the extra iron comes from, so taking a wild guess at it, see if it works? Why would iron come from beer? Could it be your water or supply lines perhaps?

Do your own research first and see what can cause those elevated levels. Then tackle those.

I'm not a doctor (or a lawyer).

 

[Genghis]

What do you generally have for breakfast? A lot of cereal is fortified with iron.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

You know, when you decided to start "pumping iron", the intent was not to do it with a hypodermic!

 

[ong]

Also, do you cook with cast iron? I've read it can increase dietary iron quite a bit (a good thing for me as a vegetarian).

 

[ultravista]

Thanks all.

I rarely cook w/cast iron and the Las Vegas water does not turn red/orange from oxidation. I take no vitamins either. I do eat leafy veggies occasionally but wouldn't cite this as a primary source of iron.

I do eat beef once or twice a week, am addicted to sunflower seeds, and salt the crap out of everything. I cannot think of a single thing that I eat that is iron rich though.

The Dr. advised me to reduce iron intake and moderate alcohol. Nothing else. No causation. The doctor did not do an LFT although said my liver appeared to be fine.

After researching the issue, I found that donating blood is the primary method of reducing blood iron.

At 45, I have not donated blood for 20+ years. I am not accident prone so what blood I have stays with me.

A friend who has hemochromatosis told me that iron stores increase in the body over time. Is that an accurate statement?

 

[SpartanDoc]

As a future physician I will prescribe at least 2 homebrews day for good health. As for the high iron I've had one too many scotch and sodas to want to even think about it.

 

[blizzard]

Give blood on a regular basis and that will take care of the excess iron.

+1. I had a friend with the same thing and this was a pretty easy solution.

Side note: He really enjoyed that this was one problem where old school leaching really would have been the correct solution...

 

[blizzard]

I do eat beef once or twice a week, am addicted to sunflower seeds, and salt the crap out of everything. I cannot think of a single thing that I eat that is iron rich though.

Uhhh.... aren't sunflower seeds relatively high in iron??

 

[Gentlemans_Ale]

Want the truth? While ferritin >200 to 300 ng/mL in men is suggestive of the presence of iron overload, it's an acute phase reactant, meaning levels may fluctuate over time and increase due to infection or inflammation. So a high ferritin level alone isn't enough to make a diagnosis of iron overload. Ferritin levels should be confirmed with more specific iron studies. If everything else looked fine...I'd drink on and wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Magnus314]

If you eat or drink it, it's likely from fructose. Fruit, juice, or corn syrup.

It has a weird effect on blood iron. Hard to fix, too, unless you quit consuming it.

 

[mauolaidom]

A lot of cereal is fortified with iron.

 

[mauolaidom]

I've had one too many scotch and sodas to want to even think about it.

 

[DU99]

did he check for hemochromatosis

 

[ultravista]

My Dr. mentioned hemochromatosis but wanted me to moderate my diet and ethanol intake and test again in 6 months.

My father confirmed it is not something that runs in his side of the family. I'll check with my aunt/uncle on my mothers side.

I plan on donating blood today to start the de-ironing process. Not sure yet if I'll go with whole blood or the double red blood cell (DRBC). From what I have read, whole blood will drop hematocrit/hemoglobin by one point while DRBC ranges from 1.5-2 points.

Now I need to figure out what that relates to from an iron perspective. Perhaps 30-50 mcg/dL reduction

 

[max384]

My Dr. mentioned hemochromatosis but wanted me to moderate my diet and ethanol intake and test again in 6 months.

My father confirmed it is not something that runs in his side of the family. I'll check with my aunt/uncle on my mothers side.

I plan on donating blood today to start the de-ironing process. Not sure yet if I'll go with whole blood or the double red blood cell (DRBC). From what I have read, whole blood will drop hematocrit/hemoglobin by one point while DRBC ranges from 1.5-2 points.

Now I need to figure out what that relates to from an iron perspective. Perhaps 30-50 mcg/dL reduction

Did your doctor follow up with any additional tests? Why did they include iron on your bloodwork? Were you symptomatic (tired, loss of energy, etc.)? Or did you have anemia?

After finding high iron, your doctor should have followed up with additional iron studies, specifically transferrin saturation %.

As was already mentioned, iron levels can be transiently elevated in the absence of any serious disease. However, you need to get additional iron studies done. If it were me, I'd call my doctor and request additional bloodwork for my own peace of mind.

I'm not a doctor, but I will be in three weeks.

 

[judsonp]

As far as I remember:
* Sunflower seeds are high in iron.
* I've never heard of beer-drinking being related to iron levels.
* People who have chronic high iron levels treat it with donating blood.

Make an appointment with the Red Cross and when you show up, tell them it's been a while. They'll be nice.

 

[ArkotRamathorn]

+1. I had a friend with the same thing and this was a pretty easy solution.

Side note: He really enjoyed that this was one problem where old school leaching really would have been the correct solution...

I would request that my doctor wear one of those long nosed plague masks and a long black robe (cassock? I can't remember what those things are called).

 

[DrunkleJon]

Do you eat a lot of green veggies. Green veggies have a on of iron too. Every Doctor in the world is going to think you need to moderate your drinking. Jerks.

Doctors have to say stuff like that. I went in for a physical (I was years overdue) last winter. After the doctor and I talked about craft beer for a while (I admitted to drinking/brewing) she said that she has to recommend that I cut back on my alcohol intake and eat better, although I am almost too healthy according to all tests, my weight, etc.

 

[ultravista]

max384 - Transferrin Saturation is 61%. I thought this was part of the typical blood/urine test routine for a physical. No achiness or loss of energy.

Do iron stores in the body increase over time? At nearly 46, I've had a lot of beef and high iron food over the years. Being German, I eat raw ground beef once a year (w/onion on bread) at a family reunion. I can't imagine this being a contributor though ...

DrunkleJon - sounds like with have the same Dr.

 

[max384]

max384 - Transferrin Saturation is 61%. I thought this was part of the typical blood/urine test routine for a physical. No achiness or loss of energy.

Do iron stores in the body increase over time? At nearly 46, I've had a lot of beef and high iron food over the years. Being German, I eat raw ground beef once a year (w/onion on bread) at a family reunion. I can't imagine this being a contributor though ...

DrunkleJon - sounds like with have the same Dr.

Did they test your CRP (c-reactive protein)? This is often done to see if the your high blood levels could be due to infection/inflammation.

Your body's iron stores shouldn't increase over time. Our bodies don't really have a way of getting rid of iron (aside from bleeding), but we can decrease (but never stop) our absorption of iron when our iron stores are high. Unless your diet is extremely high in iron, you get a lot of blood transfusions, or you're taking iron-containing medications, your iron shouldn't be high. But, sometimes it happens, or sometimes we may underestimate the iron in our diet.

Eating raw ground beef once a year wouldn't contribute to this (but it could contribute to a nasty GI infection...).

Either way, follow your doctor's advice, and follow up with repeat blood testing. In the absence of other signs of hemochromatosis, you'd need more than one elevated blood test to proceed with further genetic testing to look for hemochromatosis.

Keep in mind that moderate (or worse) alcohol consumption can contribute to iron excess. However, liver disease usually predates the iron overload, and if your liver tests were fine, this may not be a contributing factor... But it surely won't be helping.

 

[SharonaZamboni]

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MensHe...tickets-saved-fatal-disease/story?id=10109129

 

[ultravista]

Nice find - thanks for the link.

 

[DU99]

i have been tested for hemochromatosis i carry one of the genes,my sister has hemochromatosis..we only found out about from a aunty.

 

[ultravista]

i have been tested for hemochromatosis i carry one of the genes,my sister has hemochromatosis..we only found out about from a aunty.

By carrying only gene, do you too have elevated Iron but not crazy high as the double gene & hemochromatosis?

If you don't mind my asking, what is/was your iron levels, have you done anything about it, and what did you do?

I did a double red cell donation today. It should have dropped my hemoglobin by 1-1.5 points. Not sure how much iron in mcg/dL though ...