The compound has been linked to improved cognitive performance and reduced anxiety – but are you getting enough of it?
Jessica Bradley BBC 4 days ago
(Credit: Getty Images/ Serenity Strull/ BBC)
You may not have heard of choline before, but studies show that it's crucial for our health, at various stages of life.
Choline is neither a vitamin or a mineral – it's an organic compound that's vital to the healthy functioning of the human nervous system. Now there's emerging evidence that consuming more choline can have a wide range of powerful effects, from improving cognitive performance to protecting against neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia.
Scientists say that choline is a wonder-nutrient, but that it has been hugely overlooked. So, where does choline come from – and are you getting enough of it?
A crucial nutrient
Every cell in our body contains choline, says Xinyin Jiang, professor of health and nutrition sciences at Brooklyn College in New York, US.
Choline is an "essential" nutrient, which means we need it for our health, but our bodies don't produce enough on their own. Instead, we need to get some of it from our diets. In this sense, it's similar to omega 3 fatty acids, although it's actually closely associated with B vitamins, says Emma Derbyshire, science writer and founder and CEO of the consultancy Nutritional Insight.
Choline can be found mostly in animal-based foods, including beef, eggs, fish, chicken and milk, but it's also in peanuts, kidney beans, mushrooms and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli – although animal foods tend to contain more choline than plant-based sources.
"Choline helps fat transport out of the liver, and when a person is deficient, they can get a fatty liver," says Jiang.
Choline also helps the body to synthesise phospholipids, which are the main component of the cell membranes in our bodies. Being deficient in the nutrient can affect the expression of genes involved in the process of our cells multiplying. During the development of a foetus, choline deficiency can be particularly harmful because it inhibits cell proliferation in the brain.
Choline's role in the brain is crucial – in fact it's primarily a "brain nutrient", says Derbyshire. It's needed for our bodies to produce the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is a chemical that carries messages from your brain to your body through nerve cells. Acetylcholine plays a major role in brain nerve cells, which are needed for our memory, thinking and learning.
In one study involving almost 1,400 people aged 36 to 83, researchers found that people with a higher choline intake tended to have better memories, and that choline intake during midlife may help to protect our brains. Choline is commonly included as an ingredient in supplements taken as "nootropics" – a diverse group of substances which some people believe can enhance learning and memory.
Having an adequate choline intake can also come with a number of other benefits. A higher dietary intake of this nutrient .
Separately, research in mice has found that choline can help to lower the levels of homocysteine, an amino acid which can increase the risk of heart disease. High levels of homocysteine can also be linked to osteoporosis, and research has found that people with higher choline intakes from their diets tend to have ahigher bone density – an indicator of strong, healthy bones with a lower risk of being fractured.
"Choline can potentially have an effect against bone loss," says Øyen Jannike, a researcher at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway, who has studied the link between choline and bone health.
This may partly be because of homocysteine, she says, but also because choline is an essential structure in our cell membranes.
The first 1000 days
It's well established that a child's first two years are critical for their development, and that the mother's diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding has an integral influence on this.
According to one study, people who eat eggs tend to have roughly twice the choline intake of those who don’t (Credit: Getty Images)
Several studies have found that the supply of choline in the womb correlates to the cognitive outcome of the baby, and its benefits may continue for years as the child develops. In one study, pregnant women who had the highest dietary choline intake during the second trimester of pregnancy (from week 13 to week 28) went on to have children who scored higher on a test of short- and long-term memory at the age of seven.
In Europe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has set recommendations for choline intake: 400mg for adults, and 480mg and 520mg for pregnant and breastfeeding individuals, respectively.
In the US, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) first established adequate choline intake recommendations in 1998: 550mg per day for men and 425mg per day for women, or 450mg during pregnancy and 550mg while breastfeeding.
"We're seeing a lot more ADHD and dyslexia in schools, and some is genetic, but it's also possible that, in utero, they're not getting key nutrients," Derbyshire says. "These very subtle neurodevelopment changes are occurring and impacting them later on. We're treating the aftermath now."
Jiang has studied the relationship between the supply of choline during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and brain development. "In animal findings, when the mum has more choline, the cognitive development of their offspring is better," she says. "We're starting to find similar results in human studies, although, not exactly the same."
Feeding the brain
A 2020 review of 38 animal and 16 human studies concluded that choline supplementation helps brain development. However, only animal studies currently show a strong link between choline and improved cognitive function. The paper doesn't define the ideal amount of supplementation, but says most human studies use supplements providing up to 930mg choline daily – an amount equivalent to the choline in roughly six chicken's eggs – with no adverse effects reported.
We also know, Derbyshire says, that, due to the genetic differences from one person to another, some people may have higher requirements for choline. (Derbyshire has previously consulted for and advised The Meat Advisory Panel, Marlow Foods (Quorn), the Health Supplement Information Service and the British Egg Information Service, among other organisations).
Peanuts contain high levels of choline, with 61-66mg per 100g of peanut butter (Credit: Getty Images)
When we eat foods containing choline, it's very easily absorbed into our blood, says Jiang, which should go some way to ensuring we're consuming enough choline.
However, several studies show that many of us aren't getting enough. One study found that only 11% of American adults consume the recommended daily amount.
Eggs are one of the most potent dietary sources of choline, and there is some concern that those who choose to follow a vegan diet may not be getting enough of this nutrient – though there are many plant-based sources and choline supplements are widely available in developed countries.
One study found that people who eat eggs have almost twice the usual choline intake compared with those who don't, leading the researchers to conclude that consuming the daily adequate amount of choline was "extremely difficult" without eating eggs or taking a supplement.
Anyone concerned they're not getting enough choline can take a daily supplement, Øyen says. In the meantime, she adds, there needs to be more animal and human research to better understand the mechanisms behind some of choline's health benefits.
However "clinicians are becoming more aware of [choline]", says Derbyshire. While it often seems to be slightly overlooked, she is hopeful that choline will soon start to enjoy the limelight.
Scientists hope tracking iron levels in the brain could help diagnose Parkinson’s disease
Metro Science Reporter Friday 21 Feb 2020 9:06 am
A build-up of dangerous proteins in the brain can cause Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A new imaging technique that tracks the accumulation of iron in the brain could be helpful for the early diagnosis of Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, according to research.
Scientists say they have developed a ‘cutting-edge’ method, called quantitative susceptibility mapping, to map iron levels in the brain based on scans.
They say this technique is more advanced than conventional brain imaging, which fails to track Parkinson’s progression until late stage. Based on their findings, the researchers believe measuring iron deposits in the brain could also help predict which people with Parkinson’s will develop dementia.
Dr Rimona Weil, of University College London’s (UCL) Queen Square Institute of Neurology and lead author on the study, said: ‘Iron in the brain is of growing interest to people researching neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and dementias.
‘As you get older, iron accumulates in the brain, but it’s also linked to the build-up of harmful brain proteins, so we’re starting to find evidence that it could be useful in monitoring disease progression, and potentially even in diagnostics.’
The researchers studied 97 people with Parkinson’s disease along with 37 people without the condition. The participants were given scores based on tests on thinking, memory and motor function.
The researchers mapped the iron levels in the brain using their new quantitative susceptibility mapping technique. They found that iron accumulation in the hippocampus and thalamus brain regions was associated with poor memory and thinking scores, while iron in the putamen region of the brain correlated with poor movement scores.
Computer illustration showing a degenerated substantia nigra in Parkinson’s disease. The substantia nigra plays an important role in reward, addiction, and movement. Degeneration of this structure is characteristic of Parkinson\’s disease. (Getty Images/Science Photo Library)
Based on their findings, the researchers said it is ‘very promising that iron deposition was specifically detected in those areas’.
They believe tracking iron deposits in the brain could help clinicians determine whether a treatment is working or not and could, in future, be helpful for early diagnosis of Parkinson’s or other neurodegenerative diseases.
Co-author Dr Julio Acosta-Cabronero, of the UCL’s Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, said: ‘We hope that brain iron measurement could be useful for a wide range of conditions, such as to gauge dementia severity or to see which brain regions are affected by other movement, neuromuscular and neuroinflammatory disorders, stroke, traumatic brain injury and drug abuse.’
Professor David Dexter, Deputy Director of Research at Parkinson’s UK, said: ‘Frustratingly, we are currently unable to catch Parkinson’s in its early stages, which creates a huge barrier to finding treatments that can stop, slow or reverse the condition.
‘We know that people with Parkinson’s have a higher-than-average risk of developing dementia, so the exciting use of the MRI scan to potentially identify Parkinson’s earlier, as well as helping to predict which people with Parkinson’s will develop dementia, opens up a new avenue for research to explore.
‘The findings also suggest that using brain scans to measure levels of iron in the brain could be valuable to track if a treatment is working in a clinical trial, which could lead to better treatments faster for the 145,000 people living with Parkinson’s in the UK.’
The researchers are following up the same study participants to see how their disease is progressing while monitoring the changes in their brain’s iron levels. The research is published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry.
A new study suggests that if you drink one glass of orange juice on a daily basis it could greatly reduce your risk of acquiring dementia.
Posted by Jay Grimes on Dec 15th, 2018 // Comments off
In this study, over a period of 16 years from 1986 to 2002, 28,000 US men were tracked regarding their daily eating and drinking of fruits and vegetables and the relationship to subjective cognitive function during that time. When the data was first collected the average age of the men was 51 years.
The outcome of the study revealed 47 percent of the men who drank a small glass of orange juice every day were less likely to develop poor cognitive abilities than the men who drank less than one serving per month.
The study also found that men experiencing less reduction in memory function were the men who ate the most vegetables and were 34 percent less likely to report cognitive loses.
“Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and nutrients, including antioxidants, that can help protect the brain,” said Hannah Gardener, a researcher at the University of Miami who was not involved in the research, according to the Daily Mail.
“One of the most important factors in this study is that we were able to research and track such a large group of men over a 20-year period of time, allowing for very telling results,” said Changzheng Yuan, a research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and who was the study’s lead author as well.
Yuan suggests that it is generally best to consume no more than four to six ounces of fruit juices per day because fruit juices are normally high in calories from the high concentration of fructose sugars in them.
According to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, “dementia is a usually progressive condition marked by the development of multiple cognitive deficits, such as memory impairment, aphasia (the loss of the power to use or comprehend words usually resulting from brain damage), and the inability to plan and initiate complex behavior.”
Also according to Merriam-Webster, dementia is also “diagnosed only when both memory and another cognitive function are each affected severely enough to interfere with a person’s ability to carry out routine daily activities.”
It is estimated that 46.8 million people lived with dementia in 2015 worldwide and the number will rise to 131.5 million by 2050, according to the London-based non-profit organization Alzheimer’s Disease International.
Turmeric contains curcumin, the polyphenol identified as its primary active component and which exhibits over 150 potentially therapeutic activities, which include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.1
July 08, 2013
Story at-a-glance
Curcumin crosses the blood-brain barrier and exhibits potent neuroprotective properties, leading researchers to investigate it as a possible drug alternative in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease
Unlike Parkinson’s drugs, curcumin, a polyphenol identified as the primary active component of the spice turmeric, it reduces inflammation and oxidative damage in the brain
Curcumin has also shown promise for preventing other brain disorders, including dementia, Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease
Parkinson’s disease is related to certain lifestyle factors, including exposure to pesticides, paint and solvents, and vitamin D deficiency; animal-based omega-3 fats are also a powerful defense against Parkinson's
By Dr. Mercola
Most spices have powerful medicinal properties, which is precisely why they've been used to promote healing for thousands of years prior to the advent of modern, synthetic drug-based medicine.
One such spice is turmeric, the yellow-pigmented "curry spice" often used in Indian cuisine. Turmeric contains curcumin, the polyphenol identified as its primary active component and which exhibits over 150 potentially therapeutic activities, which include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.1
Curcumin is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, which is one reason why it holds promise as a neuroprotective agent in a wide range of neurological disorders.
Researchers have investigated curcumin for its potential role in improving Parkinson's disease .
Preliminary results indicate that it may hold even more promise than the drugs currently used for this disorder, many of which (ironically) have serious neurotoxic side effects, including dyskinesia – a movement disorder identical to the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a steady depletion of dopamine-producing nerve cells, particularly in the area of your brain referred to as the substantia nigra. Most of the current drug treatments for Parkinson's disease, known as dopamine agonists, focus on replenishing dopamine.
Although such treatments provide symptomatic relief during early Parkinson's disease, they are ineffective in the long term where they may actually increase symptoms such as tremor, postural instability and cognitive deficits that are common with this disease. They are also associated with motor complications and a laundry list of other strange and disturbing side effects, including:
Euphoria
Nausea
Hallucinations
Insomnia
Causing or worsening psychosis
Unusual tiredness or weakness
Orthostatic hypotension (a dizzy spell caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure)
Dizziness, drowsiness, lightheadedness, or fainting
Increased orgasmic intensity
Twitching, twisting, or other unusual body movements
Weight loss
Pathological addiction (gambling, shopping, internet pornography, hypersexuality)
As researchers noted in the journal Current Pharmaceutical Design:2
"Most of the current pharmacotherapeutic approaches in PD [Parkinson's disease] are aimed at replenishing the striatal dopamine. Although these drugs provide symptomatic relief during early PD, many patients develop motor complications with long-term treatment. Further, PD medications do not effectively tackle tremor, postural instability and cognitive deficits.
Most importantly, most of these drugs do not exhibit neuroprotective effects in patients. Consequently, novel therapies involving natural antioxidants and plant products/molecules with neuroprotective properties are being exploited for adjunctive therapy."
Unlike Parkinson's drugs, curcumin is neuroprotective and several studies strongly support its use for the treatment of Parkinson's. For example:
Curcumin showed neuroprotective properties in an animal model of Parkinson's disease; the beneficial effect was thought to be related, in part, to its antioxidant capabilities and its ability to penetrate the brain.3
Curcumin alleviated the effects of glutathione depletion, which causes oxidative stress, mitochondria dysfunction and cell death – and is a feature of early Parkinson's disease.4
The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway is involved in dopaminergic neuronal degeneration, which is in turn associated with Parkinson's. Curcumin prevents dopaminergic neuronal death through inhibition of the JNK pathway, and thereby offers a neuroprotective effect that may be beneficial for Parkinson's.5
Slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins can cause clumping, which is the first step for diseases such as Parkinson's. Curcumin helps prevent the proteins from clumping.6
Curcumin Is a Powerful Ally for Your Brain Health
For years now turmeric, and its active ingredient curcumin, have shown powerful benefits to your brain health. One of the ways that it works, similar to vitamin D, is modulating large numbers of your genes; in fact, curcumin has been shown to influence more than 700 genes.
The potential healing power of this spice, which is an important part of Eastern cultural traditions including traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, perhaps first came about when it was noticed that the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease among older adults in India is more than four times lower than the rate in the United States.
Why such a significant difference?
Some researchers believe the answer for this drastic disparity in Alzheimer's disease prevalence is a direct result of curcumin. Research has shown that curcumin may help inhibit the accumulation of destructive beta amyloids in the brain of Alzheimer's patients, as well as break up existing plaques. People with Alzheimer's tend to have higher levels of inflammation in their brains, and curcumin is perhaps most known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties. The compound can inhibit both the activity and the inflammatory metabolic byproducts of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX) enzymes, as well as other enzymes and hormones that modulate inflammation.
And that's not all. The growing interest in curcumin over the past 50 years is understandable when you consider the many health benefits researchers have found when studying this spice. According to an ever-expanding clinical body of studies, curcumin may help:
Reduce cholesterol levels
Prevent low-density lipoprotein oxidation
Inhibit platelet aggregation
Suppress thrombosis and myocardial infarction
Suppress symptoms associated with type 2 diabetes
Suppress symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
Suppress symptoms of multiple sclerosis
Suppress symptoms of Alzheimer's disease
Inhibit HIV replication
Suppress tumor formation
Enhance wound healing
Protect against liver damage
Increase bile secretion
Protect against cataracts
Protect against pulmonary toxicity and fibrosis
Two More Important Tools for Parkinson's: Vitamin D and Omega-3
There is a correlation between insufficient levels of vitamin D and the development of early Parkinson's disease, and research has suggested that long-term deficiency may play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease. There are three major points you want to remember about vitamin D:
Your best source for this vitamin is exposure to the sun, without sunblock on your skin, until your skin turns the lightest shade of pink. While this isn't always possible due to the change of the seasons and your geographic location (and your skin color), this is the ideal to aim for. A safe tanning bed is the next best option, followed by oral vitamin D3 supplementation.
If you do supplement with vitamin D, you'll only want to supplement with natural vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Do NOT use the synthetic and highly inferior vitamin D2, which is the one most doctors will give you in a prescription most of the time unless you ask specifically for D3.
Get your vitamin D blood levels checked! The only way to determine the correct dose is to have your blood tested since there are so many variables that influence your vitamin D status. I recommend using Lab Corp in the U.S. Getting the correct test is the first step in this process, as there are TWO vitamin D tests currently being offered: 1,25(OH)D and 25(OH)D.
From my perspective, the preferred test your doctor needs to order is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is the better marker of overall D status. This is the marker that is most strongly associated with overall health. You'll want to optimize your levels according to the chart below. If you currently have Parkinson's disease you will want to keep your vitamin D level in the higher 70-100 ng/ml range to help fight the disease.
Animal-based omega-3 fats are also a powerful defense against Parkinson's, as they contain two fatty acids crucial to human health, DHA and EPA. Most of the neurological benefits of omega-3 oils are derived from the DHA component rather than the EPA component.
In fact, DHA is one of the major building blocks of your brain. About half of your brain and eyes are made up of fat, much of which is DHA -- making it an essential nutrient for optimal brain and eye function. Your brain activity actually depends greatly upon the functions provided by its outer, fatty waxy membrane to act as an electrical nerve-conduction cable. In your brain alone, DHA may help to ward off Parkinson's by:
Reducing brain inflammation
Stimulating neuron growth, and development and repair of synapses. (Your brain is a vast complex system of nerve cells sending and receiving electrical impulses across junctions called synapses. The small space between the two cells is where the action occurs. One neuron may synapse with as many as 1,000 other neurons.)
DHA protects your brain's function by supporting optimal glutamate function. Glutamate and GABA are considered your brain's 'workhorse' neurotransmitters. They work together to control your brain's overall level of excitability, which controls many body processes.
I believe krill oil is your best option for getting animal-based omega-3 fats because of the fact that the omega-3 is attached to phospholipids that dramatically increase its absorption, especially into brain tissue.
Lifestyle Changes to Help Prevent Parkinson's
Parkinson's disease is related to lifestyle factors, including the following:
Environmental toxins and pesticides
Aspartame consumption
Petroleum-based hydrocarbon solvents, like paint and glue
Deficiencies in vitamin D and vitamin B folate
Excess iron in your body
Pasteurized milk
In addition to avoiding these toxic exposures, I recommend lifestyle adjustments including:
Exercise regularly, including high-intensity exercise like Peak Fitness. It's one of the best ways to protect against the onset of symptoms of Parkinson's disease
Get plenty of sunshine to optimize your vitamin D levels
Avoid pesticide and insecticide exposure (as well as exposure to other environmental toxins like solvents)
Eat more organic vegetables, which are high in folate, the natural form of folic acid (folate after all comes from foliage)
Make sure your body has healthy levels of iron and manganese (neither too much nor too little of either)
Consider supplementing coenzyme Q10, which may help to fight the disease. But remember, the oxidized form of coenzyme Q10 called ubiquinone or plain CoQ10 is actually found in elevated levels in neurodegenerative conditions involving enhanced oxidative stress, as it is a residual marker of lipid peroxidation (brain rancidity). This is why ubiquinol, the reduced form that is capable of donating electrons to quench brain-damaging free radicals, while at the same time providing a boost to brain mitochondrial function, is the only logical choice in Parkinson's disease and related neurodegenerative conditions.
As for getting the full benefits that curcumin has to offer, look for a turmeric extract that contains 100 percent certified organic ingredients, with at least 95 percent curcuminoids. The formula should be free of fillers, additives and excipients (a substance added to the supplement as a processing or stability aid), and the manufacturer should use safe production practices at all stages: planting, cultivation, selective harvesting, and then producing and packaging the final product.
Unfortunately, at the present time there really are no formulations available for the use against cancer. This is because relatively high doses are required and curcumin is not absorbed that well. There is much work being done to provide a bioavailable formulation in the near future.
In the event you need higher doses (such as in the case of treating cancer), use the curcumin powder and make a microemulsion of it by combining a tablespoon of the powder and mixing it into 1-2 egg yolks and a teaspoon or two of melted coconut oil. Then use a high-speed hand blender to emulsify the powder (be careful when doing so as curcumin is a very potent yellow pigment and can permanently discolor surfaces if you aren't careful).
Another strategy that can help increase absorption is to put one tablespoon of the curcumin powder into a quart of boiling water. It must be boiling when you add the powder; it will not work as well if you put it in room temperature water and heat the water and curcumin. After boiling it for 10 minutes you will have created a 12 percent solution that you can drink once it has cooled down. It will have a woody taste. The curcumin will gradually fall out of the solution, however. In about six hours it will be a 6 percent solution, so it's best to drink the water within four hours
It’s one of the most popular drinks in the world. About 80% of tea drinkers choose black tea.1It’s rich in antioxidants, nutrients, and amino acids. The result? A drink with major health benefits…from strengthening bones to preventing heart disease. INH Research
Here are five healthy benefits of drinking black tea:
1. Strengthens Bones: Studies show that black tea helps improve bone density. One study revealed higher bone density in daily drinkers than people who didn’t drink it.2 It’s the polyphenols that deliver this benefit.
Black tea can also help save your teeth. The antioxidants in it can kill bacteria. The kind that cause gum disease and tooth decay. Researchers found that three cups of it a day can fight off Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus. Even people who took tooth-rotting sugar in their tea saw some protective benefit… But we recommend you skip it completely.3
2. Improves Heart Health: Drinking a daily serving of black tea can reduce your stroke risks by up to 21%.4 One study found it helped lower total triglyceride levels by about 36% in three months.5 This is because it’s rich in theaflavins and thearubigins. You won’t find these compounds in green tea.
This same study also found over a 400% increase in the antioxidant concentration of subjects’ blood. More antioxidant power means less inflammation and oxidative stress. But there’s another benefit researchers found in this study…
3. Balances Blood Sugar: Researchers also revealed that black tea can decrease blood sugar levels by nearly 20%. It’s not surprising that other studies link black tea to a reduction in diabetes risk.6 One of them found that drinking this tea may help lower type 2 diabetes risk by as much as 70%.7 Another study revealed that four daily cups of black tea can reduce inflammation and oxidation in type 2 diabetics.8
4. Prevents Lung Damage: A team of researchers in India compared the lung-protective benefits of black tea in guinea pigs. After a week of testing, they found animals that drank water developed lung damage when exposed to cigarette smoke. But not the black tea group.
The guinea pigs that drank black tea didn’t experience oxidative stress or inflammation when they were exposed. This doesn’t mean drinking a ton of black tea can reverse the lung damage smoking causes… But it does suggest protection from secondhand smoke and toxin exposure.9
5. Reduces Cell Death: When important cells start to deteriorate and die in your body, it means serious trouble. Conditions like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. But black tea can help prevent neurodegenerative diseases…
A study from China found drinking it helped to lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Researchers observed that subjects who drank the most saw a 29% reduction in risk. Yet green tea didn’t have this effect. This means black tea’s compounds may be unique when it comes to protecting your brain.10
To get the most health benefits from black tea, drink it in its natural, organic state. Don’t buy the sweetened or flavored varieties. And don’t steep it for too long. This may minimize the health benefits. You can find quality black tea in most health stores and online.
Elevated levels have been linked to cancer,2heart disease,3 neurodegenerative diseases,4 gouty arthritis5 and many other health problems.6 Analysis by Dr. Joseph MercolaFact Checked January 09, 2019 Top 4 Reasons to Check Your Iron Level, Not Your Cholesterol
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
While your body requires sufficient iron to stay healthy, elevated levels have been linked to cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, gouty arthritis, hepatitis C, liver disease and many other health problems
Elevated cerebrospinal fluid iron levels are strongly correlated with the presence of the Alzheimer’s risk allele, APOE-e4, and elevated iron in your brain may actually be the mechanism that makes APOE-e4 a major genetic risk factor for the disease
Elevated ferritin has been linked to impaired glucose metabolism, raising the risk of diabetes fivefold in men and fourfold in women, a magnitude of correlation similar to that of obesity
Iron causes significant harm primarily by catalyzing a reaction within the inner mitochondrial membrane. When iron reacts with hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl free radicals are formed, causing severe mitochondrial dysfunction
If your iron level is too high, the easiest way to lower it is to donate blood two or three times a year. If you have severe overload you may need to do more regular phlebotomies. Regular sauna use, which is an effective form of detoxification, is also helpful
While many health screens are overrated or unnecessary, a few stand out as vitally important. For example, while most people will check their cholesterol on a regular basis, even though high cholesterol has been proven to have no significant impact on heart health, few consider checking their serum ferritin (stored iron) level.
Most doctors also ignore this important health screen. This is tragic, because while your body requires sufficient iron to remain healthy,1 elevated levels have been linked to cancer,2heart disease,3 neurodegenerative diseases,4 gouty arthritis5 and many other health problems.6
As noted in a 2007 paper,7 other iron overload conditions include chronic hepatitis C and end-stage liver disease, and even "mild or moderate increase of iron stores appears to have significant clinical relevance" in these and other conditions.
Iron overload is also of particular concern in Alzheimer's disease.8,9,10 According to recent research,11,12 buildup of iron, causing a rusting effect in the brain, plays an important role and is common in most Alzheimer's patients. As noted by the authors:
"In the presence of the pathological hallmarks of [Alzheimer's disease], iron is accumulated within and around the amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, mostly as ferrihydrite inside ferritin, hemosiderin and magnetite.
The co-localization of iron with amyloid-beta has been proposed to constitute a major source of toxicity. Indeed, in vitro, amyloid-beta has been shown to convert ferric iron to ferrous iron, which can act as a catalyst for the Fenton reaction to generate toxic free radicals, which in turn result in oxidative stress."
Other research13 suggests elevated cerebrospinal fluid iron levels are strongly correlated with the presence of the Alzheimer's risk allele, APOE-e4, and that elevated levels of iron in your brain may actually be the mechanism that makes APOE-e4 a major genetic risk factor for the disease.
A primary focus of conventional treatment so far has been to clear amyloid proteins, but while the approach seems logical, such attempts have met with limited success. Now, researchers suggest clearing out excess iron may be a more effective way to reduce damage and slow or prevent the Alzheimer's disease process.
High Iron Impacts Your Diabetes Risk as Much as Obesity
Iron causes significant harm primarily by catalyzing a reaction within the inner mitochondrial membrane. When iron reacts with hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl free radicals are formed. These are among the most damaging free radicals known, causing severe mitochondrial dysfunction, which in turn is at the heart of most chronic degenerative diseases.
Importantly, elevated ferritin has been linked to dysfunctional glucose metabolism,14 raising the risk of diabetes fivefold in men and fourfold in women, a magnitude of correlation similar to that of obesity.15 High ferritin also doubles your risk of metabolic syndrome,16 a condition associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, liver disease and heart disease.
Unfortunately, the first thing people think about when they hear "iron" is anemia (iron deficiency), not realizing that iron overload is actually a more common problem — and far more dangerous.
GGT Test Is Also Advisable to Rule Out Iron Toxicity
A gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) test can also be used as a screening marker for excess free iron and is a great indicator of your sudden cardiac death risk. Recent research also suggests elevated GGT is associated with insulin resistance, cardiometabolic disease17 and chronic kidney disease.18
In recent years, scientists have discovered GGT is highly interactive with iron, and when both your serum ferritin and GGT are high, you are at significantly increased risk of chronic health problems and early death,19,20 because then you have a combination of free iron (which is highly toxic), and the iron storage to keep that toxicity going.21 Hence getting a GGT test in addition to a serum ferritin test is advisable to rule out iron toxicity.
Iron Overload Is Extremely Common
As noted in a recent Nautilus article22 by Clayton Dalton, an emergency medicine resident at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, it's quite possible to come dangerously close to the maximum daily intake of iron thought to be safe simply by eating breakfast, as two servings of fortified breakfast cereal may provide as much as 44 milligrams (mg) of iron in some cases.
Meanwhile, the upper tolerance limit is 45 mg for adults, and the recommended daily allowance is 8 mg for men and 18 mg for premenopausal women (i.e., women who still get their monthly period).
Indeed, most adult men and postmenopausal women are at risk for iron overload and need to be mindful of their intake since they do not lose blood on a regular basis. Blood loss is the primary way to lower excess iron,23 as your body has no active iron excretion mechanism.
There's also an inherited disease, hemochromatosis, which causes your body to accumulate excessive and dangerously damaging levels of iron. The following can also cause or exacerbate high iron. Just remember you cannot base your risk of iron overload on these factors alone. You have to actually measure your iron level if you are:
Cooking in iron pots or pans. Cooking acidic foods in these types of pots or pans will cause even higher levels of iron absorption
Regularly eating processed foods such as cereals and white breads fortified with iron. (What's worse, the iron used in these products is inorganic iron, which has more in common with rust than the bioavailable iron found in meat)
Drinking well water high in iron. The key here is to make sure you have some type of iron precipitator and/or a reverse osmosis water filter
Taking multiple vitamins and mineral supplements, as both of these frequently have iron in them
Regularly consuming alcohol, as this will increase the absorption of iron in your diet. For instance, if you drink wine with your steak, you will likely absorb more iron than you need
Iron's Mechanism of Harm Explained
Your body creates energy by passing the electrons from the carbs and fats you eat to oxygen through the electron transport chain in your mitochondria, which produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Ninety-five percent of the time, the oxygen is converted to water, but 0.5 to 5 percent of the time, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are created.
ROS are not all bad as they are important biological signaling molecules, but excessive ROS leads to mitochondrial damage and dysfunction. Iron can react with hydrogen peroxide in the inner mitochondrial membrane. This is a normal part of cellular aerobic respiration.
However, when you have excessive iron, it catalyzes the formation of excessive hydroxyl free radicals from the peroxide, which decimate your mitochondrial DNA, mitochondrial electron transport proteins and cellular membranes. This is how iron overload accelerates chronic disease. Dalton writes:24
"As the chemists Barry Halliwell and John Gutteridge — who wrote the book on iron biochemistry — put it, 'The reactivity of the hydroxyl radicals is so great that, if they are formed in living systems, they will react immediately with whatever biological molecule is in their vicinity, producing secondary radicals of variable reactivity.'
Such is the Faustian bargain that has been struck by life on this planet. Oxygen and iron are essential for the production of energy, but may also conspire to destroy the delicate order of our cells. As the neuroscientist J.R. Connor has said, 'Life was designed to exist at the very interface between iron sufficiency and deficiency.'"
If You're a Carb-Burner, Your Risk May Be Magnified
If you eat excessive net carbs (total carbs minus fiber) the situation is further exacerbated, as burning carbs as your primary fuel can add another 30 to 40 percent more ROS on top of the hydroxyl free radicals generated by the presence of high iron.
Unfortunately, most people burn carbs as their primary fuel these days. If you struggle with any kind of chronic health problem and have high iron and eat a standard American diet that is high in net carbs, normalizing your iron level (explained below) and implementing a ketogenic diet as described in my book, "Fat for Fuel," can go a long way toward improving your health.
Taking extra antioxidants to suppress ROS generated by high iron alone or in combination with a high-sugar diet is inadvisable, as ROS also act as important signaling molecules. They're not all bad. They cause harm only when produced in excess.
Hence your best bet is simply to lower the production of ROS. One of the easiest and most effective ways to do that is to eat a diet high in healthy fats, adequate in protein and low in net carbs. Eating healthy fats can make a bigger difference than you might think, especially if you have high iron.
How Your Body Maintains Iron Homeostasis
Now, your body does have a mechanism for maintaining iron homeostasis, which works well provided you're not getting too much iron from your diet on a regular basis. A key regulator of iron is hepcidin, a protein secreted by your liver. When your iron level is sufficient, your liver secretes hepcidin into your bloodstream.
As your hepcidin level rises, iron absorption in your gastrointestinal tract is inhibited, while cells throughout your body start to sequester iron into ferritin (an iron storage protein). When your iron level is low, your hepcidin level drops, triggering gastrointestinal cells to start absorbing iron from your food again.
Elegant as this system may be, iron overload can still occur if you're consistently consuming too much iron, or if you have a genetic mutation causing impaired iron regulation. A gene called HFE regulates hepcidin; people with hereditary hemochromatosis have two defective copies of this gene, while having just one defective copy is known as heterozygosity. As reported by Dalton:25
"The prevalence of hereditary hemochromatosis, in which two defective copies of the HFE gene are present and there are clinical signs of iron overload, is actually pretty high — as many as 1 in 200 in the United States.
And perhaps 1 in 40 may have two defective HFE genes without overt hemochromatosis. That's more than 8 million Americans who could have a significant short-circuit in their ability to regulate iron absorption and metabolism."
There's evidence26,27 to suggest people with a single defective HFE gene may also have impaired iron metabolism, albeit not to the degree seen in those with hemochromatosis.
According to one study,28 "an estimated 40 to 70 percent of persons with the C282Y homozygous genotype will develop clinical evidence of iron overload," and estimates suggest more than 30 percent of Americans are heterozygotes, placing them at this significantly increased risk.29
People with a single defective HFE gene have also been shown to be at increased risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.30,31 In one study,32 heterozygosity raised the risk of cardiomyopathy, a strong risk factor for heart failure, nearly sixfold.
Iron Metabolism and Disease
The discovery of hepcidin in 2000 launched a string of research showing just how dangerous iron overload can be — even if you don't have an HFE gene mutation. I recommend reading through the original article,33 but here's a quick summary of the highlights:
1.Iron and cardiovascular disease — A meta-analysis34 published in 2013 found that 27 of 55 published studies demonstrated a positive relationship between iron and cardiovascular disease, with higher iron levels being linked to higher risk of disease. Twenty of the studies found no significant relationship, and only eight reported a negative relationship, with higher iron levels being associated with lower risk of disease.
For example, a Scandinavian study found elevated ferritin levels raised men's risk of heart attack two- to threefold. In another, people with high ferritin were five times more likely to suffer a heart attack than those with normal levels.
A third found elevated ferritin doubled the risk of heart attack. Importantly, in this study they found that each 1 percent increase in ferritin raised the risk of heart attack by 4 percent, and the only risk factor that weighed heavier than ferritin was smoking.
Canadian scientists have also evaluated the link between serum iron (opposed to serum ferritin) to heart attack risk, as ferritin is not a perfect marker for iron status. They too found that higher iron raised the risk of heart attack in men twofold, and fivefold in women.
2.Iron and diabetes — The link between high iron and diabetes has also strengthened over the years. In the late '80s, it was discovered that patients who receive blood transfusions are at significantly increased risk of diabetes, suggesting iron itself, and not just genetic factors, were in fact at play.
In 1997, the first study35 to investigate this connection published findings confirming that ferritin is indeed a strong predictor of dysfunctional glucose metabolism. The only factor stronger is body mass index.
The association between iron and diabetes was confirmed in 1998, when a study36 found that phlebotomy (blood donation) improved insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism in both healthy and diabetic subjects. This was later reconfirmed in 200537 and 2012.38
In 1999, researchers linked elevated ferritin with a fivefold increased risk of diabetes in men and a nearly fourfold increased risk in women.39 Five years after that, ferritin was linked to a doubled risk of metabolic syndrome, which is also strongly associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.40
Then, in 2011, a study41 looking at the connection between transferrin saturation (a measure of the iron load in your transferrin protein) and diabetes risk concluded that having a transferrin saturation above 50 percent raised the risk of diabetes two to three times and increased mortality rates.
3.Iron and cancer — As noted by Dalton, "It had been known since the late 1950s that injecting large doses of iron into lab animals could cause malignant tumors." Unfortunately, it would take three decades before scientists started looking at the link between iron and cancer in humans. Today, there's ample evidence for this connection. Among this evidence are studies showing:
◦Elevated ferritin is associated with a three times higher risk of death from cancer42
◦Men who develop cancer have higher transferritin saturation and blood levels of iron than cancer-free men43
◦Blood donors are between 20 percent44 and 30 percent45 less likely to develop cancer than non-donors
◦Elevated ferritin raises your risk of colorectal cancer threefold and lung cancer by 1.5 times.46 A meta-review of 33 studies that looked at the link between iron and colorectal cancer specifically found more than 75 percent of these studies supported the link47
◦Your risk of dying from cancer increases the higher your serum iron and transferrin saturation levels are. People with the highest levels have double the risk of death as those with the lowest48
4.Iron and neurological disease — Last but not least, high iron has repeatedly been shown to wreak havoc in the brain. Some of this research has already been mentioned. As noted by Dalton:
"[Your brain] burns 20 percent of the body's total oxygen requirement. With a metabolism that hot, it's inevitable that the brain will also produce more free radicals as it churns through all that oxygen. Surprisingly, it's been shown that the brain appears to have less antioxidant capacity than other tissues in the body,49 which could make it more susceptible to oxidative stress … This, in turn, points to a sensitivity to iron."
Dalton goes on to cite a number of studies which, when taken together, "suggest that abnormal iron metabolism in the brain could be a causative factor in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases."
Ideal Iron and GGT Levels
When checking your serum ferritin, it's important to remember the "normal" ranges for GGT and serum ferritin are far from ideal.50 If you're in the "normal" range, you're virtually guaranteed to develop some sort of health problem. It's also important to remember that you need both tests to confirm the absence of iron toxicity.
To learn more about this, see my interview with Gerry Koenig, former chairman of the Iron Disorders Institute and the Hemochromatosis Foundation, embedded above for your convenience. The recommended, ideal levels, of ferritin and GGT are as follows:
•Ferritin — Adult men and non-menstruating women: 30 to 40 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) or 75 to 100 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L51).
The most commonly used threshold for iron deficiency in clinical studies is 12 to 15 ng/mL (30 to 37 nmol/L).52 You do not want to be below 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) or above 80 ng/mL (200 nmol/L). High iron during pregnancy is also problematic; having a level of 60 or 70 ng/mL (150 or 175 nmol/L) is associated with greater odds of poor pregnancy outcomes.
•GGT — Below 16 units per liter (U/L) for men and below 9 U/L for women. Above 25 U/L for men and 18 U/L for women, your risk of chronic disease increases significantly.
Ferritin and GGT are interactive, and low GGT tends to be protective against higher ferritin. So, if your GGT is low, you're largely protected even if your ferritin is a bit higher than ideal. Still, it would still be wise to take steps to lower your ferritin to a more ideal level. On the other hand, even if your ferritin is low, having elevated GGT levels is cause for concern and needs to be addressed.
If you are thin, with a body mass index below 22 or 23, Koenig suggests getting a transferrin test as well, which gives you a percentage saturation level. A level of 25 to 35 percent is typically considered healthy. In the 1970s, the transferrin saturation test was used as a marker for early death. Having a transferrin saturation percentage of over 55 indicated a 60 percent increased risk for premature death.
How to Lower Your Iron and GGT Levels
If your iron level is too high, the easiest way to lower it is to donate blood two or three times a year. If you have severe overload you may need to do more regular phlebotomies. Regular sauna use, which is an effective form of detoxification, is also helpful.
While I've long recommended donating blood as the solution to iron overload, I now believe a balanced approach using phlebotomy, detoxification and reducing dietary iron, especially meat, is the best way to go about it.
Keep in mind that trying to control high iron through your diet alone can be risky, as you will also forgo many valuable nutrients. That said, to avoid maximizing iron absorption, avoid eating iron-rich foods in combination with vitamin C-rich foods or beverages, as the vitamin C will increase iron absorption. If needed, you could also take a curcumin supplement. Curcumin acts as a potent chelator of iron and can be a useful supplement if your iron is elevated.
As for lowering GGT, you'll need to implement strategies that boost glutathione, a potent antioxidant produced in your body, as GGT is inversely related to glutathione. As your GGT level rises, your glutathione goes down. This is in fact part of the equation explaining how elevated GGT harms your health. By elevating your glutathione level, you will lower your GGT.
The amino acid cysteine, found in whey protein, poultry and eggs, plays an important role in your body's production of glutathione. Red meat, which does not contain cysteine, will tend to raise GGT, as will alcohol, so both should be avoided.53
Research also suggests eating at least 10 servings of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C, fiber, beta-carotene, anthocyanins and folate per week can help reduce GGT.54 Examples include carrots, romaine lettuce, spinach, sweet potatoes, apricots and tomatoes.
Also, be aware that certain medications can raise your GGT. If this is the case, please confer with your doctor to determine whether you might be able to stop the medication or switch to something else, and avoid over-the-counter medicines, including ibuprofen and aspirin, both of which can damage your liver.
General detoxification is another important component if your GGT is high, as your liver's job is to remove toxins from your body. The fact that your GGT is elevated means your liver is under stress.
Take Control of Your Health by Checking Your Iron Status Annually
I strongly suggest most adults seriously consider getting a serum ferritin test on an annual basis to confirm you're neither too high nor too low. Again, keep in mind that the "normal" ranges for serum ferritin are far from ideal.55 In some labs, a level of 200 to 300 ng/mL (499 to 749 nmol/L) falls within the normal range for women and men respectively, which is far too high for optimal health.
When it comes to iron overload, I believe it can be every bit as dangerous to your health as vitamin D deficiency, and checking your iron status is far more important than your cholesterol. While a full iron panel that checks serum iron, iron-binding capacity and ferritin can be helpful, you really only need the serum ferritin test, plus the GGT test. Your doctor can write you a prescription for these tests, or you can order them from HealtheIron.com.
So, to reiterate some of the most important take-home messages, to prevent ill health due to iron overload, be sure to:
Regularly screen for iron overload with a serum ferritin or GGT level to confirm that you don't have excess iron and, if you do, donate blood to lower your levels. Recent U.S. legislation allows all blood banks to perform therapeutic phlebotomy for hemochromatosis or iron overload. All you need is a doctor's order
Lower your net carb intake and increase healthy fats to switch over to fat-burning mode and protect your mitochondria. This will help to radically reduce ROS and secondary free radical production
Don't avoid iron-rich foods. Just avoid combining them with vitamin C-rich foods, and combine them with calcium-rich foods instead to limit absorption. Also avoid alcohol, which will increase the absorption of iron in your diet. You could also consider a curcumin supplement to reduce your iron load without risking the elimination of other valuable minerals
Unless you have a lab-documented iron deficiency, avoid iron-containing multivitamins, iron supplements and mineral supplements that contain iron
