Why no Iron?

Hi,

I was reading in the Atkins book that you shouldn't take a supplement
with Iron in it. Why is this? I just bought Centrum and have been
taking that for 2 days and it has iron in it. Surely it won't do any
harm, or will it?

Wendy

(Wendy J.) wrote in
om:

Hi,

I was reading in the Atkins book that you shouldn't take a supplement
with Iron in it. Why is this? I just bought Centrum and have been
taking that for 2 days and it has iron in it. Surely it won't do any
harm, or will it?

Wendy


It has to do with the foods you're supposed to be eating. You're going
to be eating lots of salads and meat. Both have a lot of iron in them.
How much iron does the Centrum have in it? If it's low, it probably
won't do any harm, but if it's high, you should look into buying one
that doesn't have iron. I found one (sorry can't remember the brand
right now) that was just "essential vitamins" (I think that was in the
name, too) that had basically everything but iron.

You just want to be careful, because too much iron is a very bad thing.
It can cause lots of problems.

Hope this helps

Amanda

Wendy J. wrote:

Hi,

I was reading in the Atkins book that you shouldn't take a supplement
with Iron in it. Why is this? I just bought Centrum and have been
taking that for 2 days and it has iron in it. Surely it won't do any
harm, or will it?

at worst, it may constipate you.

Excess iron is stored in the body. Too much can lead to production of
free radicals. Excessive high iron can lead to heart disease, cancer,
cirrhosis of the liver, and diabetes to name a few. -- Meat eggs, fish,
some nuts...are high in iron, which is why I suspect Atkin's recommends
supplements without iron.

Wendy J. wrote:

Hi,

I was reading in the Atkins book that you shouldn't take a supplement
with Iron in it. Why is this? I just bought Centrum and have been
taking that for 2 days and it has iron in it. Surely it won't do any
harm, or will it?

Wendy

--
Judy
197.5/194/160 5' 11"
Start Date: 10/26/03

"The Queen of Cans and Jars" wrote in message
.. .
Wendy J. wrote:

Hi,

I was reading in the Atkins book that you shouldn't take a supplement
with Iron in it. Why is this? I just bought Centrum and have been
taking that for 2 days and it has iron in it. Surely it won't do any
harm, or will it?

at worst, it may constipate you.

I could do much worse than that.
Read up some before you make further comments.

at worst, it may constipate you.


Wrong answer.

~Kat


"I think I would like to call myself 'the girl who wanted to be God'. Yet if I
were not in this body, where would I be--perhaps I am destined to be classified
and qualified. But, oh, I cry out aginst it." --Sylvia Plath

If there's a Rite Aid around you, they have a decent multi vitamin
without iron for a reasonable price.

Cheri


Amanda wrote in message
. ..
(Wendy J.) wrote in
. com:

Hi,

I was reading in the Atkins book that you shouldn't take a supplement
with Iron in it. Why is this? I just bought Centrum and have been
taking that for 2 days and it has iron in it. Surely it won't do any
harm, or will it?

Wendy


It has to do with the foods you're supposed to be eating. You're going
to be eating lots of salads and meat. Both have a lot of iron in them.
How much iron does the Centrum have in it? If it's low, it probably
won't do any harm, but if it's high, you should look into buying one
that doesn't have iron. I found one (sorry can't remember the brand
right now) that was just "essential vitamins" (I think that was in the
name, too) that had basically everything but iron.

You just want to be careful, because too much iron is a very bad thing.
It can cause lots of problems.

Hope this helps

Amanda

Jarkat2002 wrote:

at worst, it may constipate you.


Wrong answer.

how much is too much? please, educate me.

yes, iron is toxic *in excess*, but i doubt very seriously that one
multivitamin on top of a reasonably well-balanced diet is going to send
anyone into death throes. i would also point out that the OP is a
woman, and that women who menstruate are not generally at risk of od'ing
on iron since they lose a significant amount of it each month.

"The Queen of Cans and Jars" wrote in message
.. .
Jarkat2002 wrote:

at worst, it may constipate you.


Wrong answer.

how much is too much? please, educate me.

yes, iron is toxic *in excess*, but i doubt very seriously that one
multivitamin on top of a reasonably well-balanced diet is going to send
anyone into death throes. i would also point out that the OP is a
woman, and that women who menstruate are not generally at risk of od'ing
on iron since they lose a significant amount of it each month.


Again... please read up on the subject before you continue with your
pontifications.
www.google.com "how to use google"

Mu-Pi wrote:

"The Queen of Cans and Jars" wrote in message
.. .
Jarkat2002 wrote:

at worst, it may constipate you.


Wrong answer.

how much is too much? please, educate me.

yes, iron is toxic *in excess*, but i doubt very seriously that one
multivitamin on top of a reasonably well-balanced diet is going to send
anyone into death throes. i would also point out that the OP is a
woman, and that women who menstruate are not generally at risk of od'ing
on iron since they lose a significant amount of it each month.


Again... please read up on the subject before you continue with your
pontifications.
www.google.com "how to use google"

you don't say!

the recommended daily allowance of iron for women aged 19-50 is 18 mg.
http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements/iron.html

there are 18 mg of iron in a standard centrum tablet.
http://www.centrum.com/products/labeling_centrum.asp

the maximum "safe" daily dosage is 45 mg.
http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements/iron.html

a pound of top sirloin has about 12 mg.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl

a pound of raw spinach has about 12 mg.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl

when was the last time you ate a pound of anything at a sitting?
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=tw...=&ie=UTF-8&c2c
off=1&safe=off&selm=20020726133532.14262.00001424% 40mb-fp.aol.com&rnum=3


or

http://tinyurl.com/xnw8

in fact, take a look at the FDA website and sort your foods by iron.
lower carb foods hardly make a peep before the fifth page, unless you're
all about clams, liver and giblets.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcom...k/wt_rank.html

in the context of a new low carber who is also new to taking a daily
multivitamin, it's highly unlikely that one is going to overconsume iron
in deadly or very dangerous doses. it takes time for it to build up in
your system and regardless of how much of it you're actually consuming,
you're only absorbing small percentages of that.

http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements/iron.html

a well balanced diet is likely to provide *enough* iron to meet the RDA
(which may or may not be a valid measure in the first place - in a group
that can't agree on how many ounces constitutes a cup, can we really be
expected to agree that the RDA is the ultimate authority on what our
bodies need?), but even with a multivitamin on top of it, most people
aren't at a toxic level. maybe getting close, and probably not
advisable, but it's going to constipate you before it sends you to the
emergency room.

and it's pretty easy to...you know...just go buy a new bottle of
vitamins without iron, if she's all that worried about it.

the sky isn't falling or anything.

(by the way, that google thingie sure is neat. thanks for the tip,
chum.)