High iron levels...

[Chris Forbis]

Went to donate blood today (8 weeks to the day since my last donation). Whatever blood iron test they run, it has an upper limit of 18.0. I came in at an 18.6 (on both fingers). So no blood donation for me. They advised me to see a physician.

Any thoughts? Besides infecting myself with parasites...

Dr. G?

[Paul Findley]

leeches

[Scott Kustes]

How did you get your number? All they do for me is prick my finger and watch the blood sink to the bottom of some liquid.

[Chris Forbis]

They've got some fancy little machine that analyzes the hemoglobin count.

[Mike ODonnell]

Don't go outside during a thunderstorm

[Robert Allison]

You might consider inositol hexaphosphate (IP6), also know as phytic acid. Taken between meals, it can leech excess iron out of the blood. If you Google IP6, you'll find a ton of info.

You could also try a therapeutic phlebotomy, but I am pretty sure you need a doctor's referral for that.

[Garrett Smith]

Several suggestions/ideas:

First, go to donate again and see if it was a fluke test before undergoing any "corrective" measures.

Are you taking any iron in your supplements or is it all from the massive amounts of red meat you're eating?

Have you started doing a significantly increased amount of metcon lately? Running in particular?

Robert's IP6 could be a good idea. As would be more raw spinach.

[Chris Forbis]

Hmm...

I take no iron supplements. I eat about 10 pounds of red meat a week. I eat about 3/4 a pound of raw spinach a week.

I have increased metcon quite a bit the last two weeks. From zero metcon a week to 2 or 3 metcons a week. Not really any running specifically (a few 400s). What effect would the metcon have?

I'll go back later this week or early next week to the donation center to get tested again. Should I aim to go fasted, a few hours after a meal or what?

PM #20 talks about blood donation and says that a serum ferritin test is more reliable. Pending another too high hemoglobin result, is that what I should look into with a doctor?

To keep iron levels in check was part of the reason I was donating. D'oh!

[Robert Allison]

Originally Posted by Chris Forbis

Hmm...

I take no iron supplements. I eat about 10 pounds of red meat a week. I eat about 3/4 a pound of raw spinach a week.

If you do have iron overload and plan on continuing to consume that quantity of red meat, you might try drinking some red wine, or green or black tea with your meals. They all contain tannins which can hinder the absorption of iron.

While that won't really help with your current situation, it might prevent a recurrence.

Regarding tests, from Mercola's site:

The most useful laboratory test to ascertain hemochromatosis is measuring serum iron concentration, total iron binding capacity, transferrin saturation and serum ferritin. These should be done together.

http://www.mercola.com/2002/dec/18/iron_diagnosis.htm

[Chris Forbis]

If I need to, I have no problems with cutting back on the red meat consumption. I'll just have to find a replacement...