Iron Overload

It's Not As Simple As Your Lab Results

The conversation around iron overload and hemochromatosis has become oversimplified in modern medicine. While experts often focus solely on ferritin levels and transferrin saturation as diagnostic markers, they're missing a crucial piece of the puzzle: the complex dance between iron absorption, storage, and—perhaps most importantly—recycling iron from our red blood cells. Think of your body's iron management as a sophisticated recycling plant rather than a simple storage facility.

Daily, your body efficiently recycles around 25mg of iron from aging red blood cells while only absorbing 1-2mg from food.

Yet much of the medical discussion around iron overload focuses almost exclusively on absorption and storage, mainly ignoring this critical recycling pathway. This oversight may lead to misunderstandings about how iron accumulates in our bodies and why some people develop iron overload while others don't, even with similar genetic predispositions. In this article, we'll explore why the st…