Obviously one quick way of getting rid of excess iron is to donate blood but in the UK there is a limit to the frequency you're allowed to donate (every 4 months) So you need other strategies to keep iron low.
Iron Behaving badly
I've removed hundreds of links to references in the quote from this paper because they make it very difficult to read. The full text without the bold text to those most readily available is free full text online.
Quote:
There is also a considerable and positive role for nutrients in terms of their chelation of iron.
Indeed, polyphenolic compounds, many of which have known health benefits , are widely used as food antioxidants. There is of course considerable epidemiological evidence for the benefits of consuming fruit and vegetables that are likely to contain such antioxidants and � although possibly a minimum � this has been popularised as the 'five a day' message
Even though elements of the 'Mediterranean' diet that are considered to be beneficial are usually assumed to be so on the basis of their antioxidant capabilities many of the polyphenolic compounds (e.g. flavones, isoflavones, stilbenes, flavanones, catechins (flavan-3-ols), chalcones, tannins and anthocyanidins) so implicated may also act to chelate iron as well . This is reasonable given that many of these polyphenols and flavonoid compounds have groups such as the catechol moiety that are part of the known iron-binding elements of microbial siderophores. Examples include flavones such as quercetin, baicalin, curcumin, kolaviron , flavonol floranol xanthones such as mangiferin , morin, catechins and theaflavins as well as procyanidins and melatonin. However, the celebrated (trans-)-resveratrol molecule may act mainly via other pathways.
A considerable number of studies with non-purified dietary constituents containing the above polyphenolic components have also shown promise in inhibiting diseases in which oxidative stress is implicated. For instance in stroke and related neuronal aging and stress conditions, preventative activity can be found in blueberries, Ginkgo biloba extract , grapes , green tea , Mangifera indica extract Strawberries, spinach and Crataegus, while combinations of some these components ('protandim') have been claimed to reduce ROS levels by stimulating the production of catalase and SOD. As with pharmaceutical drugs , there are significant problems with bioavailability , although the necessary measurements are starting to come forward. There is now increasing evidence for the mechanisms with which these dietary components and related natural products and derivatives (often with anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic or anti-carcinogenic properties) interact with well recognised cellular signalling pathways
Phytic acid [IP6] (inositol hexaphosphate), found naturally in seeds and bran, is nature�s most potent iron chelator (remover). [Cancer 56:717-8, 1985. Free Radical Biology Medicine 8:61-9, 1990; J Biological Chemistry 262:11647-50, 1987] It is available as an extract from rice bran, identified as IP6 in health food stores. Use of IP6 with water on an empty stomach will maximize effect. Periodic use of IP6 rice bran extract by full-grown males or post-hysterectomy/post-menopausal females, should reduce the risk of harboring mycobacteria like tuberculosis.
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- Jim
Life is just one damned thing after another - Elbert Hubbard
Phytic acid [IP6] (inositol hexaphosphate), found naturally in seeds and bran, is nature�s most potent iron chelator (remover). [Cancer 56:717-8, 1985. Free Radical Biology Medicine 8:61-9, 1990; J Biological Chemistry 262:11647-50, 1987] It is available as an extract from rice bran, identified as IP6 in health food stores. Use of IP6 with water on an empty stomach will maximize effect. Periodic use of IP6 rice bran extract by full-grown males or post-hysterectomy/post-menopausal females, should reduce the risk of harboring mycobacteria like tuberculosis.
And apparently some forms of cancer have an affiliation with iron.
Cancer Inhibition By IP6
This anticancer action of IP6 may be further related to mineral binding ability; IP6 by binding with Zn2+ can affect thymidine kinase activity, an enzyme essential for DNA synthesis, or remove iron, which may augment colorectal cancer.
IRON diabetes, obesity melatonin
Linear Mode
