Anybody tracking IRON?
 

I just started tracking my RDA's. My iron has been over 8.0 mg. on most days. I've been reading about the dangers of getting too much iron, and to my only advantage I take a baby aspirin daily.

Usually it's around 10-12 mg./day, but yesterday I hit 22 mg! :eek:

Anyone else out there tracking this heavy metal and what suggestions do you have for keeping it reasonable?

Thanks.

PS: While I fixed my lack of Mg yesterday by eating a quarter cup of pumpkin seeds, I also got a whopping 47% iron with it. :mad:

I have tracked my iron for years, only I have the opposite problem, my body doesn't metabolize vegetable sources of iron very well. So typically I try and get 18 mg of iron/daily, usually through supplements because I don't eat all that much red meat. Iron is more toxic to men than women, too much more than 10 mg can be toxic to a man, where as women's vitamins routinely contain 10-18 mg.

Truthfully you might have a blood test and see if you have anything to worry about, before you self diagnose any overdoses or deficiencies.

Yes, getting blood work done is a good idea and something I plan on doing soon, but cannot right now.

I was just freaked out about the RDA of 8 mg. when I posted this. I've been reading about iron for the last few days, how to limit the intake and how to stop absorption. Then I came across the FDA limit on iron and feel a lot better. The FDA claims that 45 mg. a day is safe for most Americans. Then on Livestrong they claim 14 mg. a day is OK. Now I don't plan on getting all that iron, but I sure feel a lot better if my daily intake is averaging around 10-12 mg.

A free way to get your iron checked is to donate blood, if medical insurance is an issue.

That's a great idea. I've never donated before, but I am certainly able to. I've probably got great blood to donate, and if indeed my iron is high, that would help me as well as the bank. Thanks for the idea!

Can you give me some ideas for increasing my iron while keeping my calories low? I'm trying to lose weight and getting sufficient iron has been difficult.

Thanks,
Kate

Here's a couple of articles that will be of help:

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articl...h-in-iron.html

Understanding Iron Nutrition for Men / Nutrition / For Men


One thing I'll add that's important is this. I've read that in order to increase the absorption of iron you should increase the acidity at the same time. Therefore, drinking a glass of orange juice or putting a slice of tomato on your turkey burger will help increase Fe absorption.

As of this writing, I'm now averaging 13-16 grams of Fe a day and I just cannot get any less no matter how I try. They add iron to a lot of foods.. They add 5% here, 5% there. It's really not fair to men. It's like they are trying to increase our odds of cancer. :mad:

Thanks Vito. I appreciate the info.