Two Common Iron Supplements May Cause (aggressive) GI Cancer

haidut

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As the study itself states, it is not just the iron used in dietary supplements that may the dangerous. The type used on food fortification is just as dangerous and may be even more impactful since virtually all people eat commercial food on a daily basis while much fewer numbers consume iron supplements. The fact that even very low amounts of iron supplementation was carcinogenic strongly corroborates Peat's claims that aside from young children, most other people should stay away from supplementing iron. Unfortunately, due to the ubiquity of iron fortification in commercial food processing, it becomes next to impossible to avoid that extra iron without becoming orthorexic. As such, using aspirin or vitamin E several times weekly may be a more practical approach to reducing iron overload.

Oncotarget | Ferric citrate and ferric EDTA but not ferrous sulfate drive amphiregulin-mediated activation of the MAP kinase ERK in gut epithelial cancer cells

Two common iron supplements may cause cancer

"...The scientists — led by Nathalie Scheers, an assistant professor at the Chalmers University of Technology — explain that their research was prompted by older studies that showed that two compounds, called ferric citrate and ferric EDTA, promote tumors in mice. But, these previous studies did not reveal "whether all forms of 'bioavailable' iron exacerbate gut cancer cells," or whether different forms of iron display the same mechanism. So, in the new study, Scheers and colleagues examined the effect of these two compounds on the growth of human colorectal cancer cells. Additionally, they tested another widely available iron compound called ferrous sulfate. In their experiment, the researchers used levels of the compounds that might realistically be found in the gastrointestinal tract after taking the supplement. To their knowledge, Scheers and colleagues are the first to study the effect of these compounds on human cells. The researchers published their findings in the journal Oncotarget."

"...The study revealed that even in low amounts, both ferric citrate and ferric EDTA raised cellular levels of a cancer biomarker called amphiregulin and its receptor. By contrast, ferrous sulfate had no such effect on the cells. "Specific iron compounds affect cell signaling differently, and some may increase the risk of colon cancer advancement in an amphiregulin-dependent fashion," the authors write. Scheers comments on the findings, saying, "We can conclude that ferric citrate and ferric EDTA might be carcinogenic, as they both increase the formation of amphiregulin, a known cancer marker most often associated with long-term cancer with poor prognosis."
 
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charlie

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tankasnowgod

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I remember from reading the Weinberg book "Exposing the Hidden Dangers of Iron" that iron attached to an EDTA molecule was being investigated as a way to increase the absorption rate of iron from fortification. This study clearly illustrates why that would be a very bad idea. To date, I haven't seen any product using Ferric EDTA for fortification.

I also remember Weinberg talking about how certain primitive tribes would develop cancerous growths on their feet when they frequently walked barefoot over soil that contained high amounts of iron oxide. Seems like you want to minimize contact with any sort of iron compounds. As for dietary iron, the best and safest would have to be iron that contains natural plant or animal protections, like iron from spinach or red meat.
 

BigChad

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I remember from reading the Weinberg book "Exposing the Hidden Dangers of Iron" that iron attached to an EDTA molecule was being investigated as a way to increase the absorption rate of iron from fortification. This study clearly illustrates why that would be a very bad idea. To date, I haven't seen any product using Ferric EDTA for fortification.

I also remember Weinberg talking about how certain primitive tribes would develop cancerous growths on their feet when they frequently walked barefoot over soil that contained high amounts of iron oxide. Seems like you want to minimize contact with any sort of iron compounds. As for dietary iron, the best and safest would have to be iron that contains natural plant or animal protections, like iron from spinach or red meat.

Iron from cocoa powder is fine? Also didnt Peat mention copper being important to manage iron.
@haidut do aspirin and vitamin E deplete iron from the body? Also its odd ferrous sulfate didn't have an effect. I've seen ferrous sulfate, fumarate, and bisglycinate a lot, but haven't seen citrate or edta used in fortified products or vitamins. I heard bisglycinate is safer as far as risk of iron toxicity, and that it has a higher safe upper limit than other forms.
 

rob

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Issues around iron supplementation are well known. From the literature, I’ve certainly long held concern over its effect on the gut/microbiome. That’s why I have a gripe here in the UK that, for example, white wheat flour must now be fortified.

Personally, I think bovine lactoferrin is by far the safest option as, among other thing, it boasts sequestration properties limiting the free iron pool - something pathogenic bacteria can readily use to grow and proliferate.

It’s also the case serum deficiency can be a byproduct of inflammation - cells hoard iron to reduce extracellular availability. In this case, throwing more iron in the body won’t work - iron uptake through the intestines is a very tightly controlled process anyway as there’s no readily available excretory mechanism and it’s recycled lots. The problem is only fixed by dealing with underlying inflammation.
 
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Dave Clark

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Peat doesn't like phytic acid for the same reasons most parrot on the net, but IP-6 used away from food has shown to be effective at reducing free iron without affecting other mineral status, in other words, it has an affinity for iron. Plus, it has been used for a few decades and has positive anti-cancer studies and a good track record. Phytic acid is much maligned, but heart disease and cancer have risen after the refining of grains, and countries that eat whole grains have lower disease rates.
I took a break from liver and feel better, so I think even a diet high in iron is no better than supplementing iron. Vitamin A and copper, etc. can be had from other sources that are not as high in iron.
 

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