Current diet recommendations for hemochromatosis
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Hemochromatosis diet;
This is the current medical opinion on restriction iron in your diet for hemochromatosis.
“Although dietary iron is the source of excess iron in hemochromatosis, a decrease in dietary iron has not been shown to decrease iron stores in hemochromatosis. All food groups contain iron and most humans will absorb only a small fraction of orally ingested iron.”
Source;
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2657669/
“Lifestyle and home remedies
In addition to therapeutic blood removal, you may further reduce your risk of complications from hemochromatosis if you:
•Avoid iron supplements and multivitamins containing iron. These can increase your iron levels even more.
•Avoid vitamin C supplements. Vitamin C increases absorption of iron. There's usually no need to restrict vitamin C in your diet, however.
•Avoid alcohol. Alcohol greatly increases the risk of liver damage in people with hereditary hemochromatosis. If you have hereditary hemochromatosis and you already have liver disease, avoid alcohol completely.
•Avoid eating raw fish and shellfish. People with hereditary hemochromatosis are susceptible to infections, particularly those caused by certain bacteria in raw fish and shellfish.
Additional dietary changes generally aren't required for people receiving blood removal treatment.”
Source;
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hemochromatosis/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351448
Most people absorb around 10 percent of the iron they consume. When there are sufficient stores of iron, the body reduces iron absorption through the intestine to prevent levels from rising too far.
People with hereditary hemochromatosis may absorb up to 30 percent of the iron they consume. At this rate, the body cannot expel the extra iron fast enough, so it builds up. The body stores the excess in the tissues of major organs, mainly in the liver, and also the heart and the pancreas.
People with hemochromatosis may eventually build up between 5 and 20 times the amount of iron they should have. Over time this excess iron can destroy organs, resulting in organ failure and chronic diseases, such as cirrhosis, heart disease, and diabetes.
The recommended dietary allowance for adult males and for women over 50 is 8 milligrams per day. For women aged 19-50, the RDA is 18 milligrams per day (it's higher to compensate for menstrual losses).
In order to restrict your iron intake extremely enough to make an impact on the amount your body will absorb,(nearly impossible), you would likely become anemic which is not good and there is no point in doing it.
Getting your hemochromatosis information from companies selling diet/cook books or alternative medical sources is like getting your medicine recommendations from the pharmaceutical companies.
0 likes, 6 replies
Chris8968
Posted
“Dietary Precautions
Reducing Iron Intake
It is impossible to completely avoid iron in one’s diet and it is not advisable in any case. Many foods rich in iron also have other essential vitamins and minerals. In the active de-ironing phase, reducing iron intake is almost insignificant compared to the 225 mg of iron that are being removed with each phlebotomy. In the maintenance phase, restricting iron intake may increase the time between phlebotomies but at no time will reducing iron in the diet replace phlebotomies as effective therapy.”
Source;
https://www.toomuchiron.ca/hemochromatosis/dietary-precautions/
Chris8968
Posted
What about diet recommendations for people with hemochromatosis?
•A normal balanced diet is recommended without avoidance of iron containing foods provided patients are undergoing effective therapeutic phlebotomy.
•Alcohol should be avoided since alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer.
•Ingestion of high doses of vitamin C in individuals with iron overload may lead to fatal abnormal heart rhythms. Therefore, it is reasonable to avoid vitamin C supplementation until patients are adequately treated.
•Raw seafood should be avoided since people with hemochromatosis are at risk of acquiring bacterial infections that flourish in iron rich environment.
Source;
https://www.medicinenet.com/iron_overload/article.htm#how_is_hemochromatosis_treated
Chris8968
Posted
Diet and alcohol
You don't need to make any big changes to your diet, such as avoiding all foods containing iron, if you have haemochromatosis.
This is unlikely to be of much extra help if you're having one of the treatments above, and could mean you don't get all the nutrition you need.
You'll usually be advised to:
•have a generally healthy, balanced diet
•avoid breakfast cereals that have been "fortified" with extra iron
•avoid taking iron and vitamin C supplements – these may be harmful for people with high iron levels
•be careful not to eat raw oysters and clams – these may contain a type of bacteria that can cause serious infections in people with high iron levels
•avoid drinking excessive amounts of alcohol – this can increase the level of iron in your body and put extra strain on your liver
Source;
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/haemochromatosis/treatment/
bruce97898 Chris8968
Posted
I have not seen a direct correlation in my own experience. But... It's hard to measure because storing and converting unbound iron to ferritin isn't quick to respond in lab work like a spike in glucose after eating carbs. It seems to either lag a great deal or simply work independently of diet. I'm not sure if we have the inability to metabolize iron at all or just don't regulate it normally.
Chris8968 bruce97898
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sheryl37154 bruce97898
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