Dear Subscriber,
By now you likely have the feeling that iron in your body, while needed for life, can be quite problematic. Iron is so reactive that your body goes to greater length to shield you from its potential ravages than it does for any other metal, including well known toxic heavy metals like lead.
The best test to determine iron overload is the saturation of iron of its carrier protein, transferrin. Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) measures transferrin and the ability of this protein to tie up iron. Serum iron measures the actual iron carried by transferrin. Divide serum iron by TIBC and you get the percentage of saturation. More than 35% is a problem. Many doctors push iron if you are anemic. Anemia is NOT a measure of iron deficiency. Anemia has many causes, including iron deficiency. It is important to determine if it is iron deficiency that is causing any anemia.
That said, if you have excess iron, how do you detox? I don’t think you should wait until you have overt damage before unloading iron. That would be akin to waiting for your walls to collapse from termite damage, before doing anything about the ongoing damage, not necessarily yet apparent.
The ultimate and most efficient way to detox iron is