Iron Metabolism: Dr. Dave Explains
In today's video, Dr. Dave Strobel talks for a few minutes about iron metabolism, hemoglobin, and general blood tests.
Iron is a basic and essential building block of the human body, with its most prominent use being in the formation of hemoglobin, a protein used to carry oxygen in the blood stream. As essential as it is, in high enough amounts iron can also be toxic, so a careful understanding of what the level of iron in your blood means can be helpful in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
You may be under the assumption that taking daily iron supplements is good, and while that certainly can be true, it is not always accurate. As we said earlier, high enough levels of iron in your blood can be toxic, resulting in a condition called hemochromatosis. Generally speaking, our bodies do a pretty good job only absorbing as much iron from our food as we need, but there are some people with hereditary hemochromatosis, or a genetic predisposition to absorbing too much iron.
Besides genetic factors, a diet that is too full of iron-rich foods can result in hemochromatosis, as well as taking iron supplements when you don't need them. A common symptom for hemochromatosis is widespread joint pain. If that is something you deal with, talking to your doctor about your iron intake as getting some bloodwork done may help to relieve it.
This video was taken from the introduction of a larger learning module on iron metabolism, iron saturation, and related blood tests. You can watch the rest of the lesson, as well as all our other learning modules, for free on our website. All you need to do is create a free account.
Note: These videos are presented for educational purposes only. Your use of this site does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Specific medical advice is only offered through membership in HELPcare Clinic.
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