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Iron (Dietary Excess)

Level 3Contested

Iron (Dietary Excess) is a other additive listed in the FDA food-additive database.

Also: heme iron, iron supplementation, fortification iron

Where you'll see it

red meat (heme), fortified breakfast cereals, enriched flour, supplements

What the research says

Iron metabolism generates oxygen radicals in every cell (equivalent to rusting), contributing to oxidative stress that damages mitochondria, lipids, and DNA. Excess heme iron from red meat correlates with diabetes risk; adjusting for iron drops the meat-diabetes hazard ratio from 1.24 to 1.15. [metabolical] Iron metabolism generates oxygen radicals in every cell (equivalent to rusting), contributing to oxidative stress that damages mitochondria, lipids, and DNA. Excess heme iron from red meat correlates with diabetes risk; adjusting for iron drops the meat-diabetes hazard ratio from 1.24 to 1.15.

Regulatory status

  • Notes: From enrichment source only, not in Winter Dictionary

Sources

  • Metabolical (Lustig)Chapter 11; Chapter 12: you have to protect the liver from fructose, glucose, branched-chain amino acids, omega-6 fatty acids, iron, and other oxidative stresses