Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 1, 1994 TAG: 9402010121
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Iron is an essential nutrient found mainly in red meat and fortified grains. Too little can cause medical problems, from anemia to retardation. But the new research indicates that supplementing diets with iron, whether in pills or fortified foods, may not be in everyone's best interest, either.
The largest study to date, to be published today in the International Journal of Cancer, shows a risk of cancer in men beginning to rise when the amount of iron in their bodies is 10 percent higher than average.
"There is such as thing as too much of a good thing," said study author Dr. Marc Micozzi, director of the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington.
The study was published alongside one from Finland that found the same phenomenon there. Smaller studies have had similar findings, raising the question of whether American public health policy should be re-examined.
"Iron fortification was instituted with a lot of good intentions but maybe not with complete information," said Dr. Katherine McGlynn, an iron expert at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. However, she said more studies are needed "that really nail the coffin down to say we've got to stop" supplementing.
It has been known that high iron overloads can be dangerous, too. About 2 percent of Americans have a genetic flaw that doesn't allow them to properly process the heavy metal, and they can rapidly accumulate so much of it they die.
Now comes the research indicating slightly high levels of iron in people without that genetic flaw may be bad, too. Last year, researchers said it may increase heart disease, and today's study found risks for a variety of cancers, from colon to liver.
Differences were not statistically significant in women, who lose iron through menstruation.
by CNB