Most people shouldn’t take any kind of dietary supplement that contains iron.
In fact, a new study shows excess iron may increase your risk of developing one deadly form of cancer by more than 200 percent.
Of course, the excess iron-cancer link is nothing new. Nonetheless, it remains an important topic to tackle.
So, I’ll tell you all about those new findings in just a moment. But first, let’s discuss how my faculty advisor and I (at the University of Penn) began the research into this link nearly 40 years ago…
Excess iron-cancer link dates back 40 years
Back in the mid-1980s, I worked with Nobel laureate Baruch Blumberg on research that found a clear link between excess iron and increased rates of cancers—at all sites in the body. We ultimately published our findings in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine and the International Journal of Epidemiology.
Over the years, we also learned that excess iron increases the risk of chronic inflammation, infections, heart disease, and dementia.
And in some people who are susceptible to iron storage, it also leads to failure of the heart, kidneys, liver, and other organs.
To help you understand why excess iron causes these problems, it’s important to know how the body stores this mineral…
- Iron is not water-soluble. This means the body cannot “flush out” any excess. Instead, iron can be stored and transported safely in your blood by special enzymes and co-factors.
- There are already four grams of iron naturally present in the human body. Our bodies recycle this iron over and over.
- The only way to lose iron is to lose blood. So, it’s very unlikely that most of the population needs more (Of course, some women of child-bearing age may lose enough during menstruation to require additional iron.)
Therefore, when a healthy person with normal iron levels takes a supplement that contains iron…they can easily wind up with too much of it in their body. And that’s not good—as the body can’t flush out the excess!
In fact, excess circulating iron acts as an “oxidant” in your body—causing cellular inflammation and even DNA damage. (In other words, excess iron acts in the opposite way that “antioxidants” benefit and protect your cells.)
Those effects can, in turn, lead to cancer and other chronic diseases.
Now, let’s turn our attention to the new study that found a link between excess iron and a 200 percent higher cancer risk…
U.S. researchers uncover more unsettling findings about excess iron
Researchers with the University of Pittsburgh followed more than 18,000 men and women, with an average age of 66 years, for about four-and-a-half years. At the study’s outset, they were all suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
This condition puts people at a higher risk of developing liver cancer. In fact, over the course of this study, almost 200 people with NAFLD developed liver cancer.
So, the researchers wanted to pinpoint exactly why some people with NAFLD go on to develop it, whereas others don’t…
It turns out, the men and women with elevated iron levels had a two-times higher risk of developing liver cancer compared to people with normal levels. Moreover, people with lower iron levels had a one-third lower risk of developing this cancer compared to people within the normal range.
In the end, when you consider all the research, dating back many decades, you can understand why, for most people, taking an over-the-counter, daily supplement that contains iron is a mistake for their health.
If you’re one of the rare people who has a true iron deficiency, your doctor will prescribe something. (They’ll also monitor whatever condition is causing the deficiency.)
But for everyone else, just say “no” to supplemental iron. (It’s a big reason why I advise most people avoid taking a daily multivitamin.)
You can learn more about other “hidden” causes of cancer in my groundbreaking Authentic Anti-Cancer Protocol. This all-inclusive, online protocol is the sum total of more than 40 years of personal research, study, and experience in natural cancer treatment. And every solution you’ll hear about has been studied and researched by countless, cutting-edge medical institutions.