Too much iron, too much Alzheimer's

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FoodConsumer

Too much iron may increase risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to studies.


Iron deficiency may result in low production of hemoglobin and myoglobin that are involved in the transport and storage of oxygen. Iron is also involved in electron transport and energy metabolism, antioxidant and beneficial pro-oxidant functions, oxygen sensing and DNA synthesis as an enzyme known as ribonucleotide reductase needs iron.


But high intake of iron can be risky. Excess iron has been associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, neurodegenerative disease and drug interactions.


Salvador GA and colleagues from Biochemical Research Institute of Bahía Blanca in Argentina reported in the Dec 2010 issue of international Journal of Alzheimer's disease that accumulation of transition metals copper, zinc, and iron is linked with the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative disease.


The authors said high iron concentration was consistently found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease.


Animal-based foods high in iron include beef, children dark meat, oysters, shrimp, and tuna. Plant-based foods high in iron include black-strap molasses, raisin bran cereal, and prune juice, potato with skin, kidney beans, lentils, tofu and cashew nuts.


David Liu