Iron Deficiency and Bone Loss

By Al Sears, MD

Aside from the misguided notion that cholesterol causes heart disease, the most common myth I debunk with my patients is the calcium/osteoporosis connection. In Message #1881, I showed you why calcium supplements may actually work against you. But there's more to the osteoporosis problem. New evidence reveals that an iron deficiency - common here in the U.S. - contributes to bone loss.

Researchers in Japan tested this theory by feeding one group of mice a control diet, and another group of mice an iron-deficient diet. After just four weeks, the mice with an iron-deficient diet showed:

. loss of bone mineral content

. loss of bone density

. loss of mechanical strength in their bones

One reason for our chronic iron deficiency has been the result of a change in our food supply. Industrial fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides have sterilized the soil used to grow our vegetables. As a result, the plants don't have the microbial help to absorb minerals - like iron - that they would have under more natural circumstances. To give you an idea of how bad it's become, you'd have to eat 40 bowls of today's spinach to get the same amount of iron as you would have gotten from just one bowl 60 years ago.

So should you take an iron supplement? For most people, the answer is no. Iron supplements are an incomplete fix, cause constipation and bad breath, are inconvenient, and may interfere with other minerals you need.

To boost your iron intake, switch to organic veggies - especially broccoli, green beans, and leafy greens. Their mineral content is higher. And the very best source of iron is still red meat, especially organ meats. If you choose this option, go the extra mile and search out grass-fed meat or wild game.
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This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1924, 12-28-06], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.