Before we jump to that question I have to point out that there is a very important factor to consider: Not all iron is the same and not all iron is absorbed the same. Iron is iron, right? Wrong. Their are two types of iron that appear commonly in our food, the “non-heme” iron that is found in fruits, vegetables, and grains, and the “heme” iron that is found in animal foods, including red meats, poultry, and fish.  The non-heme iron is generaly harder to absor, and thus represents a lower risk of elevating iron levels.  It is the heme iron that is best reduced from your diet.

Another importnt factor to keep in mind is that Vitamic C can help your body absorb iron, so it is not a great idea to pair iron rich foods with foods that have a lot of Vitamin C, including citrus fruits and iron fortified orange juice.   This pairing is kind of a double whammy of high absorption and high iron content.  Make sense?

Here’s a quick list of things to avoid or minimize:

Foods with naturally occuring Iron:

• liver
• lean red meats, including beef, pork, lamb
• seafood, such as oysters, clams, tuna, salmon, and shrimp, etc.
• beans, including kidney, lima, navy, black, pinto, soy beans, and lentils
• iron fortified whole grains, including cereals, breads, rice, and pasta
• greens, including collard greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach, and turnip greens
• tofu
• vegetables, including broccoli, swiss chard, asparagus, parsley, watercress, brussel sprouts
• chicken and turkey
• blackstrap molasses
• nuts
• egg yolks
• dried fruits, such as raisins, prunes, dates and apricots

Foods commonly enriched with Iron:

• Instant Oatmeal
• Ready-to-eat Cereals, such as Total, Product 19, Raisin Bran
• Grits
• Iron Kids Bread
• Pasta

One key point to remember is, ou can donate blood more frequently if you ingest too much iron.  You can also drink black tea with iron rich meals as it will hep to block the absorption of iron.

Then one day my wife signed me up for a full physical with my doctor.  My doctor ran the normal battery of tests including a blood panel.  She was shocked by the results.  My Iron levels were off the charts.  She had me do more tests and asked me to read up on Hemochromatosis as this was a possible cause for the iron overload in my blood.  Further tests revealed it was in fact hereditary hemochromatosis and that my liver function was elevated from the strain…..

Luckily after 6 months of regular (3 or 4 times a month), my iron levels came down, my fatigue lessened as did my joint pain.  Most importantly, my liver function came back down to within normal levels.  I wish I could say that after a year that my fatigue is gone and the joint pain too…. They are not, but it is much better.  I’d take the healthy liver any day….

Some people experience a differentrange of symptoms.  Here is a more complete list that I found on the Mayo Clinic website;

Signs and symptoms include:

• Arthritis, especially in your hands
• Chronic fatigue
• Loss of sex drive (libido) or impotence
• Lack of normal menstruation (amenorrhea)
• Abdominal pain
• High blood sugar levels
• Low thyroid function (hypothyroidism)
• Abnormal liver function tests, even if no other symptoms are present

In advanced stages of the disease, you may develop serious conditions such as:

• Cirrhosis — a condition marked by irreversible scarring of the liver
• Liver failure
• Liver cancer
• Diabetes
• Congestive heart failure
• Cardiac arrhythmia

Some people with advanced hemochromatosis develop a bronze color to their skin when iron deposits in the skin cells produce excess melanin — the pigment that gives skin its normal color. Visible iron deposits can also make skin appear gray.

Oh, and one final point:  I did not have the decreased libido.  I just thought it made for a racy headline…..

Some things to avoid when your iron levels are high:  alcohol and raw fish.  Alcohol and iron combine in the blood and put a significant strain on your liver.  It can lead to rapid scarring of the liver (cirrhosis) and permanent liver damage.  When I was first diagnosed, I eliminated alcohol completely from my diet, and only resumed the occasional glass of wine once my iron levels had normalized.  I have also read that people with hereditary hemochromatosis are susceptible to infection from eating raw fish.  Regardless of the amount of iron in your blood, if you have the disease, eating raw fish can be dangerous.  I will look for some credible sources for this info and link to it soon.

Here’s mine:

Phlebotomy days are a bit rough on me.  I feel weak afterwards, and my ability to think is a bit diminished.  Most of this can be mitigated by a few key things, and rally they are consistent with what most blood donation centers ask you to do when you come in to donate blood.  Here they are:

• Eat a hearty meal within 4 hours prior to your appoinntment
• Drink Lots of water prior to your appointment (This seems to help with your blood flow.  Being dehydatated will slow down your blood flow and make the donation process difficult).
• Don’t take any aspirin or other pain relief medicine 48 hours prior to your phlebotomy  (this assumes that you are making community donations with your blood, and is necessary for the safety of your contributions to the blood supply).
• Give yourself an hour or so to rest after the phlebotomy and eat a hearty meal.  This will help restore you and give your bones something to work with to convert your excess iron into new blood.

It is just important to consider what you plan to do after the blood donation as before.  Generally, you should be handed a pamphlet which gives you the guidelines on how to care for yourself after the phlebotomy.  Here are the ones I follow very carefully:

No strenuous activity with 24 hours of the phlebotomy.  I almost passed out in a restaurant after putting this on e to the test. 

No alcohol within 24 hours of your donation.

Eat a good, hearty meal soon after your donation.

Please take a look at the materials that are handed out and try to follow all of them.  You never know what might affect you.  On the plus side, within a day or two of the donation I feel great, have more energy and look forward to the next one.

How does it work for you?  Anyone have a different experience?  Do all of you do community donations with your blood?

My veins are not that easy to reach and in fact, they just seem to keep using the same vein over and over.  I donate blood every 2-4 weeks and the number of phlebotomies is adding up.   The head nurse at the blood donation center I frequent suggested I switch to a smaller needle to ensure I can use that vein for as long as possible.  She told me the following anecdote:  People who give blood regularly (say, 6 times a year) often can no longer donate blood after about 20 years as tehy have too much scarring on their veins.  Someone with hemochromatosis may have to donate twice that amount of blood in the same period, or in theory, have their veins become scarred too quickly.

Save your veins, reduce hemotomas, experience a smaller *Stick*.  Request the smaller needle.