Blocking iron from eating liver

[Motif]

Not a coffee guy. What other options are there for this purpose?

 

[Jam]

Cheese.

 

[ecstatichamster]

Purple grape juice

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf025832q

Adequate bioavailable Fe intake is essential for optimal growth and intellectual development of infants and children. Fruit juices are nutritious and popular drinks for infants and children and are known to contain Fe uptake inhibitors (e.g., polyphenolic compounds) and a dominant promoter, ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is naturally present in fruit juices and is added during processing to almost all juices found in supermarkets. With these facts taken into account, an in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell culture model was developed to compare the effects of apple, pear, white grape, red grape, prune, grapefruir, and orange juices on iron bioavailability. In two series of experiments, juices from a local supermarket were combined with FeCl3 or commercial infant cereal fortified with elemental iron and subject to simulated gastric and intestinal digestion. Caco-2 cell ferritin formation in response to exposure to the digests served as the measure of Fe uptake. The pear, apple, grapefruit, orange, and white grape juice significantly increased Fe bioavailability from FeCl3. For the infant cereal studies, the apple, orange, pear, and white grape juices increased the Fe bioavailability of the infant cereal. In contrast, the red grape juice and prune juice had profound inhibitory effects on iron bioavailability. These inhibitory effects were likely due to high levels of polyphenolic compounds that bind and thereby prevent absorption of soluble Fe. These inhibitory compounds appeared to counteract the promotional effects of ascorbic acid as they were in considerable molar excess relative to ascorbic acid and Fe in the digest. From a nutritional standpoint, the results suggest that individuals in need of optimal Fe absorption should avoid red grape and prune juice or at least vary the types of juices consumed. Alternatively, individuals seeking to limit Fe uptake (e.g., hemochromatitics and astronauts) may be able to utilize red grape or prune juice as effective inhibitors of Fe uptake. Consumers should be aware that the compounds that inhibit Fe availability are also linked to anticancer benefits; thus, a dietary balance of the above juices may be optimal.

 

[Jessie]

Aspirin, even in doses below 325mgs, is enough to significantly block iron from meals.

 

[-Luke-]

Cheese.

True, also good to balance phosphorus (liver) and calcium (cheese).

Q. I can't avoid all those foods, especially the bread and grains. What can I do to keep the iron I ingest from harming me?
Iron destroys vitamin E, so vitamin E should be taken as a supplement. It shouldn't be taken at the same time as the iron-contaminated food, because iron reacts with it in the stomach. About 100 mg. per day is adequate, though our requirement increases with age, as our tissue iron stores increase. Coffee, when taken with food, strongly inhibits the absorption of iron, so I always try to drink coffee with meat. Decreasing your consumption of unsaturated fats makes the iron less harmful. Vitamin C stimulates the absorption of iron, so it might be a good idea to avoid drinking orange juice at the same meal with iron-rich foods. A deficiency of copper causes our tissues to retain an excess of iron, so foods such as shrimp and oysters which contain abundant copper should be used regularly.

Q: How does copper help us?
Copper is the crucial element for producing the color in hair and skin, for maintaining the elasticity of skin and blood vessels, for protecting against certain types of free radical, and especially for allowing us to use oxygen properly for the production of biological energy. It is also necessary for the normal functioning of certain nerve cells (substantia nigra) whose degeneration is involved in Parkinson's disease. The shape and texture of hair, as well as its color, can change in a copper deficiency. Too much iron can block our absorption of copper, and too little copper makes us store too much iron. With aging, our tissues lose copper as they store excess iron. Because of those changes, we need more vitamin E as we age.

Iron's Dangers

Ray Peat

raypeat.com

Since liver has a lot of copper, it also might have some build-in protection against too much iron absorption.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Cheese.

Cheese blocks iron? I know calcium blocks the phosphorus in liver, but I have never heard of calcium blocking iron, only caffeine?

 

[Jam]

It's the calcium. IIRC, 300+ mg inhibits the absorption of both heme and nonheme iron in a dose-dependent manner.

 

[Jam]

(and iron also inhibits calcium absorption btw, can't find the refs right now)

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

(and iron also inhibits calcium absorption btw, can't find the refs right now)

It isn't anything Ray Peat has mentioned so I did not realize that. It sure will make life a little easier! Thanks Jam!

 

[Birdie]

From Ray's website article, Iron's Dangers

• 
  
• Use shrimp and oysters, etc., to prevent the copper deficiency which leads to excess storage of iron.
  

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

(and iron also inhibits calcium absorption btw, can't find the refs right now)

It seems to me a good waste of calcium using it to block iron when caffeine could do the job. I have a hard enough time getting in enough calcium just to have it taken back out with iron, but good to know for that reason.