Alester Brown

What Happens If My Body Has Too Much Iron in It?

Iron is an essential mineral your body needs to stay healthy. It's vital for overall growth and development. Iron also contributes to the production of hemoglobin and myoglobin in your blood, ensuring that your body effectively moves oxygen and protein.

But like many other essential nutrients, getting too much iron can lead to health problems.

Hemochromatosis is a condition that causes your body to absorb too much iron from the foods you eat. It's also possible to experience secondary hemochromatosis, or secondary iron overload by taking too many supplements. In both cases, the excess iron in your system can wreak havoc on many biological functions.

Understanding Iron Overload

Hemochromatosis comes in many forms. Regardless of how it occurs, controlling how much iron you put into your body is important. That means being mindful of eating high-iron foods and choosing multivitamins without iron.

Those with genetic hemochromatosis typically start experiencing symptoms at birth. But most iron overload issues occur later in life. Problems can happen at any time, creating many debilitating health issues.

The most common issues for iron overload include fatigue, general weakness and memory fog. It can also cause abdominal pain and joint pain.

When you get too much iron in your system, your body will still use the mineral as necessary. However, it stores excess iron away in various organs. Hemochromatosis may result in elevated iron levels in your heart, liver and pancreas.

Unfortunately, iron overload can lead to life-threatening illnesses. If left untreated, it can cause liver failure, diabetes, heart failure and more.

How Do You Treat Iron Overload?

Your health care provider will first tell you to be warier about how much iron you put into your body. That might include changing your diet and transitioning to multivitamins without iron to keep levels down.

In severe cases of hemochromatosis, doctors may recommend regular phlebotomies. Iron lives in red blood cells. By removing blood regularly, you can lower iron levels. How often you get treatment depends on how your body stores iron.

Author Resource:-

Alester Brown writes about healthier lifestyle products and tips. She advises people about online weight loss programs, natural and organic health solutions. You can find her thoughts at custom vitamin packs blog.