Iron...Iron...Iron

[Big R]

No disrespect to the Atkins group, but why is it that they think that Iron is bad, yet the Centrum people seem to think it's good for those under 50?

I don't really care, but at the risk of sounding a little naive, by guess is that the Centrum guys researched it pretty heavily and decided it was good for most people.

Otherwise, they would offer an iron-free version and market it accordingly (not as Silver, b/c most 40 yr olds wouldn't consider buying Silve)

[shawnee]

Sorry for the long delay in replying.Iron is a complicated topic but here goes:

Don't routinely take an iron supplement or vitamins with iron unless your physician finds you to be iron deficient. Iron can accumulate in the body and raise your risk of disease. Besides the toxicity of too much iron, there is also the fact that it's constipating

The fact is Iron, once it is consumed, has no way out of your body. Most of it is recycled, not excreted or otherwise consumed. Except during growth stages, menstruation, or another cause of blood loss and only a minute amount at that.

Here I quote Dr Akins himself:
You may remember from chemistry class that Iron coverts readily between ferrous (two electrons) and ferric (three electrons) forms. THis makes it a player in oxidation-reduction reactions, useful in transmitting oxygen via our red blood cell, but also capable of acting like a free radical and oxidizing tissues, thereby damaging them.

This mean that any iron not affixed to the hemolobin in your blood or to other proteins simple roams around the body as unbound "free iron" and iis vulnerable to the rust like process of free radical oxidation.
Research has been done that suggests that LDL Chloresterol becomes an artery blocking danger only when it oxidizes and that men with high concentrations of iron (or copper) in thier bodies are at a particularly high risk.
That is why women have less of a chance of heart disease, because menstruation ensures that excess iron is excreted, not left to become an oxidizig menace.

The idea of "no Iron on Atkins" comes from the fact that Meat, and green leafy vegetables are major sources of Iron. and the recommended daily allowance is 10 to 15 mg a day. The recommended daily allowance is easily achieved during the Atkins approach. But by including Iron in your suppementation, you may be at risk for heart problems and damge to the stomach lining or liver damage due to excessive intake.

Hope that answers your question

[shelton]

I feel like I'm in chemistry all over again. That was an informative post. I hope to lose as much weight as all of you atkins veterans.

[Shelly Lynn]

Hey Thanks,

Hey Thanks for asking that question. Helped me out alot. Was wondering why no iron was allowed. GREAT question. and responce.


Shelly

[2big4mysize]

the no iron in the vits is that from the food choices you can make you can rewadily consume all theiron you need andas Shawnee pointed out we do not want to get toxic.

HOWEVER not everone is a good iron absorber nor do we consume our iron ladden foods with the vit C we need to assist our boieds in absorbing the iron from the food.
Also women lose iron every month in TOM so we have slightly higher iron needs then guys yep we usually concume less then guys so check with your doctor periodically to see if you do need some iron in your vits. All it takes is a simple blood test and they will know.

Happy low carbing.