Iron and Your Heart Health

A ranch house, a zip lock bag and some ordinary flour

Two experiments:

1)Some ordinary wheat flour such as can be found in most homes placed with some water in a zip-lock plastic bag. A magnet is passed over the bag and an extraordinary thing happens - Iron particles start popping out and attaching themselves to the side of the bag, forming clusters of what looked like iron filings.

2) The next experiment involves placing a well-known brand of cereal into a bowl of water. The magnet is again passed over the bowl this time and the flakes literally line up and follow the magnet round the bowl.

This is the first time I realized that there is so much added iron in the food that we eat and the effect it can have on our health.

We've all been told that heart attacks and heart bypass surgery are as a direct result of clogging or furring of our arteries by 'bad cholesterol'. The arteries become so narrowed as to make the blood flow through the arteries very difficult thus placing enormous strains on the cardio-vascular system.

Why do we need chelators and what are they?

A few trace metals that we absorb are toxic, these include iron and lead

To make use of them our bodies must form chelates (key-lates) out of them, and to do this requires chelating substances

Chelating substances attach to desirable trace metals and allow the body to properly utilize those metals they also attach to undesirable trace metals and allow the body to remove them.

Types of Chelator

Many chemicals can serve as chelators. Their effects will depend on the precise nature and concentration of that chelator.

There are some weak chelators present in common foods.

Stronger chelators are substances used medicinally to rid the body of excess toxic metals

Why is there potential for Iron Overload? Iron overload is possible because there is no normal mechanism for removing it from the body.

The body is iron-efficient, it retains its iron and recycles it over and over again.

The body's iron level is controlled almost entirely by absorption and iron can build up progressively as dietary intake increases, especially in men because they do not have a monthly blood loss.

Over a period of months and years this will result in the accumulation of several grams of iron.

Iron and Heart Disease Risk

Iron can generate free radical pathology.

There is now good evidence that free radical pathology leads to changes in the blood vessels which sets the stage for atheroscelerosis.

Accumulation of excess iron in the body may increase the risk for heart disease and the connection doesn't end there....

Health statistics have revealed that women have a lower risk of heart disease than men, until menopause, after which the risk is the same.

Why?

Pre-menopausal women have a monthly blood loss that rids the body of excess, potentially toxic iron, which may protect against heart disease.

Even pre-menopausal women with high blood cholesterol levels and high levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, which are considered to be strong risk factors for heart disease, have less heart disease than men.

The Lead connection

Lead is a toxic element that has many undesirable health effects.

Evidence links excess lead with cardiovascular disease, cancer and other disorders.

Researchers have found that cancer rates are higher amongst people living near heavily-traveled roads and it was suggested that this increased risk is due to the higher levels of lead in the air.

This led the researchers to test the effect of a lead-removing substance - EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid),a man-made amino acid and chelating agent - on cancer rates in people living near high-traffic roads.

After 18 years those treated with EDTA had one-tenth of the cancer rate of those not treated with EDTA.(1)

Chelation Therapy

This is the use of chelating agents, orally or by injection, in order to bind and remove harmful metals from the body.

The man-made chelating agent EDTA can remove most toxic metals.

Intravenous Chelation

This therapy has been used by doctors as an effective alternative to bypass surgery for atherosclerosis since the 1950s, giving hope that having hardening of the arteries need not lead to coronary bypass surgery, heart attack, stroke and numerous other related diseases.

Doctors noted reduced pain and blood cholesterol levels as well as other favorable changes. EDTA chelation therapy has been reported to help in many conditions now thought to be related to free radical pathology: Rheumatoid Arthritis, Diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and others.

Another effect of EDTA is that it changes the calcium/ magnesium ratio in the body.

EDTA removes calcium more efficiently than magnesium which reduces the ratio.

Lowering the ratio improves the flexibility of blood cells, reduces the tendency of blood to clot and reduces blood cholesterol and blood pressure.

So the benefits of EDTA are not entirely due to the removal of toxic metals but also the calcium/magnesium balance.

In the case of intravenous chelation, EDTA is used as the chelating agent. It is carried in a glucose formulation together with synthetic B Vitamins. It takes several hours and requires 80-100 treatments.

Oral Chelation

Oral EDTA therapy can also be used. One or two oral doses of EDTA per day, over a period of months can have a long-term preventative effect.

But beware! - there are many so-called oral chelation supplements on the market containing few or no chelating substances!

For an oral chelation supplement that has been tested and certified to lower bad cholesterol by The University of Illinois, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition: Go to http://GetaHealthyHeart.com

---------------------------------------------- --

References:

1. Blumer,W, et al Environmental International 3: 1980, pages 465-471

Bibliography:

New Answers to Old Questions, The Free Radical Story by Harry W Hersey

About The Author

Jakki Francis operates 'Natures Remedies' a health and nutrition business selling cutting-edge herbal nutrition products. They are based in the UK and also trade in Europe, USA and Canada and new partners are welcome from any of these countries.

Natures Remedies also trade worldwide on-line - http://www.naturesremediesuk.com - And while there, don't forget to subscribe to her F*REE Ezine, "Health News You Can Use"

Who is Jakki Francis? http://www.JakkiFrancis.com

---

A Look at Whey Protein Powder

There are so many different whey protein powder products on... Read More

Using Antioxidants in Your Weight Loss Program

If you're smart, you should not only be focused on... Read More

Why Do Supplements Make You Sick?

I have good news for you! The answer is both... Read More

Using Amino Acid Supplements

Amino acid supplements and amino acid food intake can bring... Read More

Is Vitamin E Lethal?

Recently the news carried the story that a researcher had... Read More

Know Your Bodybuilding Supplement - L-Arginine

Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid that the body cannot... Read More

Vitamin Supplements in a Liquid World

Every day, it seems like we are living in an... Read More

Advanced Creatine Cycling Schedule

Many people find that after a few weeks, the gains... Read More

Side Effects of Hyaluronic Acid Products

Currently, there are no known side effects for most hyaluronic... Read More

Bodybuilding Supplements May Not Be Necessary

To supplement or not to supplement ? that is the... Read More

Health Supplement

Health Supplement ? what is it?So what is a health... Read More

Do You Need Glyconutrients?

With all of the exciting things people are seeing in... Read More

How To Choose a Glyconutrient Supplement

This article provides three easy tips for selecting a quality... Read More

Liquid or Pills?

A lot of people take vitamins A, C, B and... Read More

Research on Hyaluronic Acid Knee Injections

Hyaluronic acid, a key component of human tissue, aiding the... Read More

How to Neutralize the Terrorists Within Your Body

Did you know that there are free radical biochemical "terrorists"... Read More

The Shocking Truth About Eight Deadly Diseases That May Be Affecting Your Health and Lifestyle

I came across an article written by Dr. Ray Strand,... Read More

Amino Acids For Height Growth ? Boosting Your Growth Hormones

Many people take amino acids for height growth these days.... Read More

The Worst $$$ I Ever Spent . . . Month after Month!

"They", the "experts" all say how important vitamins are -... Read More

Vitamin E - The Wonder Vitamin

Vitamin E is a family of eight related molecules known... Read More

Calcium Supplement

Calcium Supplement ? why calcium.Why is calcium supplement so important?... Read More

Buy Vitamins Supplements: Tips, Myths, and Facts - An Inside Story!

With dietary supplements making their way in our daily life,... Read More

Pros And Cons For Vitamin Supplements ? Are They Good Or Bad?

There are a number of pros and cons for vitamin... Read More

Using Weight Loss Supplements To Reach Your Weight Loss Goals

Supplement is a word defined by Webster as such: Something... Read More

Developing Those Elusive Bright Eyes... With Vitamins and Minerals

Vision is one of our most precious senses. Without it... Read More

Lower Cholesterol Naturally Using a Smorgasbord of Fiber

With a high cholesterol and heart disease in the family,... Read More

Can Calcium Aid in Boosting Your Health?

A popular mineral today, coral calcium, is mainly calcium, but... Read More

How Does Whey Protein Affect My Body?

Whey protein is available in supplement form and whey protein... Read More

4 Answers To Living Life On Lifes Terms

1. What supplements do you take?A multivitamin, Glucosamine-MSM-Chondroitin, Odorless Garlic,... Read More

How To Make HGH And Anti Aging Work For You

Anti aging has become the latest craze.Wherever we look at,... Read More

Keeping Tabs on Niacin

Vitamin B3 is one of the vitamins that make up... Read More

Vitamin Euphoria ? A Shot in the Dark

Vitamins seem to be so good for everything. The newly... Read More

Vitamin E ? Just the Facts, Ma?am

It is important to understand that we are ultimately responsible... Read More