Is An Iron Supplement Bad For You?

Iron is a metallic trace element that supports many functions in your body. It is found in a variety of foods, including red meats, whole grains and dark green leafy vegetables. Without sufficient dietary intake of iron, you could not produce normal red blood cells, your muscles would not function properly and your organs would not produce enough energy to meet their physiologic needs. Although iron supplements are sometimes needed to correct iron deficiency, you should not take extra iron without medical supervision.

Iron Functions

The principal use of iron in your body is in the manufacture of oxygen-carrying proteins. Iron forms the central core of hemoglobin, which is the molecule that transports oxygen to every tissue in your body and gives your red blood cells their color. Iron is also a vital component of myoglobin, which serves to store oxygen in highly active muscular tissues, including your heart. Iron is an important part of cytochrome enzymes, which work within your cells to produce energy and to reduce oxidative damage.

Iron Requirements Vary

According to Dr. Elson Haas, author of "Staying Healthy with Nutrition," iron deficiency is more likely to occur in growing individuals, such as infants and adolescents, premenopausal women, vegetarians, pregnant or lactating women and people with bleeding problems. Healthy men need less iron, because they lose very little on a daily basis. Recommended daily allowances for iron vary from less than 1 mg daily for newborns to 27 mg for pregnant women. Iron supplements may be necessary when requirements are increased, such as during adolescence or pregnancy, because dietary intake may not be sufficient to meet your physiologic needs.

Potential Harm from Iron

Your body transports and stores iron by binding it to proteins. When all of the iron-binding proteins are occupied, there is no place for the additional iron to go, and unbound iron can cause tissue damage. Thus, taking excessive iron carries some risk, even for healthy people. Liver damage, impotence, heart rhythm disturbances, Alzheimer's disease, depression, joint pain and chronic fatigue syndrome have all been associated with iron overload. A 2010 "Free Radical Biology and Medicine" study demonstrated a link between iron overload and breast cancer in older women, and a 2011 "Frontiers in Bioscience" report discusses the potential link between iron overload and age-related macular degeneration.

Precautions

If you are eating a balanced diet and are otherwise healthy, you may not need additional iron, particularly if you are an adult male or a postmenopausal female. In fact, even the iron that is present in an over-the-counter multivitamin could be more than you require. If you do not have a clear indication for taking additional iron, talk with your doctor before you take an iron-containing supplement.