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Why is Iron actually dangerous for men and not necessary for post-menopausal women?
Iron is a mineral that our body needs. Almost two-thirds of the iron in the body is used to produce hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the cells in our body. Obviously, this is a very important process.
The body can’t produce iron so it depends on our diet to provide adequate amounts of this essential mineral. It is so important that the body has enough iron that 15% of your body’s iron is stored for future needs and mobilized only when dietary intake is inadequate. The good news is that adult men and post-menopausal women lose very little iron except through bleeding. It is also reassuring that most Americans receive excellent amounts of iron in their diets. The body is usually able to maintain normal iron status simply by controlling the amount of iron absorbed from food.
The result is that men and post-menopausal women are advised not to take supplemental iron unless under the care of a medical professional. The reason - iron overload. Iron overload is a condition in which excess iron is found in the blood and stored in organs such as the liver and the heart.
One in 250 people have a genetic disorder that predisposes them to iron overload. This condition is called hemochromatosis. The condition has very few symptoms until the iron overload levels have done serious damage to the liver. The genetic testing to look for this condition is very expensive and rarely performed, therefore, the best way to avoid this disease is prevention. Since iron deficiency is rare in men and post-menopausal women the recommendation is not to take supplemental iron unless an iron deficiency is present.
The other issue about supplemental iron in men and post-menopausal women concerns heart disease. A 1980s study of Finnish men linked high iron stores with increased risk of heart disease. This observation came about the same time an American study revealed that male blood donors had significantly lower levels of coronary heart disease then men who did not donate blood. The suggestion again was that the lower levels of iron stores found in blood donors were beneficial.
Finally, some researchers have concluded that the lower rates of heart disease among people living in developing countries may be due to low meat (and iron) intake, high fiber diets that inhibit iron absorption, and gastrointestinal parasites that result in blood loss which results in low iron stores. The data here is far from conclusive but the risk benefit is obvious. Unless told otherwise, men and post-menopausal women should eat a healthy diet and avoid supplements with iron.
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