The Cold, Hard Facts On Iron

We've all heard about iron-poor blood; fall short on iron and the amount of hemoglobin in the blood is reduced, cheating the body of the oxygen it needs. Low-grade anemia can develop and lead to fatigue, decreased stamina and worse. But did you know there's a far greater chance you're getting too much iron - and the overload could be deadly?

Hemochromatosis, or iron overload syndrome, afflicts about one in every 250 Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This genetic disorder causes the body to absorb large amounts of iron that it doesn't need. Excess iron gets into the liver, heart and pancreas, where it often goes undetected until mid-life when iron levels reach 5 to 50 times normal amounts. Why does it go undetected? Because the initial symptoms, including fatigue, achy joints and weakness are sometimes misdiagnosed as iron deficiency.

But eventually, excess iron can lead to stomach pain and continuing fatigue, and can develop into arthritis and other far more severe health problems such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver.