A low blood/body level of iron is the most common mineral deficiency in the world. Iron is part of the hemoglobulin molecule that binds oxygen to red blood cells. A lack of iron can result in poor oxygen delivery to the various parts of the body. This can cause all sorts of problems, including immune-system deficits.
In the absence of adequate iron, the thymus and other lymphoid glands may shrink, the number of T- and B-cells in the blood can fall, and the ability of cell “eaters” to ingest and destroy bacteria may be impaired. The ability of the body to respond to antigen challenge is thus diminished.
Years ago, doctors gave iron tonics to patients who suffered from multiple infections. The tonics helped, but today we know that iron shouldn’t automatically be given to patients with low blood levels of iron.
Bacteria need iron to flourish. So, during infections, the body sequesters iron in the bone marrow and other organs to keep it away from the bacteria. That’s pretty smart of the body, hiding the bacteria’s food. For this reason, I advise my patients not to take iron when they’re suffering from an infection.
If you have symptoms of anemia (such as fatigue), don’t self-medicate by taking iron—or anything else, for that matter. The anemia may be caused by a serious medical problem that requires attention. In men, the problem may be cancer of the colon, gastritis, esophagitis or peptic-ulcer disease. Taking iron may make you feel better, but it won’t do anything for the underlying problem. And because you feel better, you may not seek the treatment you need. Women should also be checked out when suffering from symptoms of anemia. This may sound like a very conservative approach, but through the years I’ve seen too many people who treated their anemia by taking iron, not knowing until it was too late that the anemia was caused by a serious medical condition that could have been corrected had it been attended to earlier.
Too much iron can also be a problem, and it may suppress the immune system.
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Tags: General health