Is it possible that having too much iron can age you faster?
We all want to seek out the fountain of youth- I mean who doesn’t want to stay limber, strong, active, and in shape? The thing is, is that a lot of people are being misdiagnosed for low iron, when in fact most people aren’t necessarily iron deficient, but actually iron overloaded, and we’ll tell you why and how below. First, let’s understand why iron is important, but also why it can be dangerous if we have too much.
Iron is an essential mineral that plays a crucial role in the body, primarily in the production of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Without enough iron, the body cannot produce sufficient healthy red blood cells, leading to conditions like iron deficiency anemia, which causes fatigue, weakness, and difficulty concentrating. Iron also supports muscle function, immune system health, and brain development, making it especially important for growing children, pregnant women, and athletes. Additionally, iron is involved in the production of certain hormones and enzymes that contribute to overall metabolic function.
While iron is vital for life, too much can be extremely harmful. Having too much iron in the body can be dangerous because it can lead to iron overload, a condition known as hemochromatosis. Excess iron is stored in organs such as the liver, heart, and pancreas, where it can cause serious damage over time. This buildup can lead to liver disease, heart problems, diabetes, and other complications. High iron levels can also promote oxidative stress, which damages cells and increases the risk of conditions like cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Symptoms of iron overload may include fatigue, joint pain, abdominal pain, and skin discoloration. Since the body has no natural way to remove excess iron except through blood loss,which women only experience during their menstrual years, excessive intake from supplements or repeated blood transfusions can be harmful.
So now the question is what can cause iron excess and how does it actually cause us to age quickly?
Iron overload occurs when the body's iron recycling system is unable to regulate iron levels properly, leading to excessive accumulation. Normally, the body maintains iron balance through a tightly controlled recycling process. Most of the iron used in the body comes from the breakdown of old red blood cells by macrophages in the spleen and liver, which release iron back into circulation for reuse in the production of new red blood cells. The protein hepcidin, produced by the liver, plays a key role in regulating this process by controlling how much iron is absorbed from the diet and how much is released from storage.
When the iron recycling system is disrupted, such as in hereditary hemochromatosis, hepcidin levels are abnormally low, causing the body to absorb too much dietary iron and release excessive iron from storage. Other things that can cause this are copper deficiency or copper toxicity, a zinc deficiency, stress, infections like parasites or bacterial overgrowths, and even heavy metal toxicity like aluminum. Since the body has no natural mechanism to excrete excess iron, it continues to build up in organs like the liver, heart, and pancreas, leading to toxicity and damage, which can then also cause rapid aging.
Regarding rapid aging specifically, excess iron promotes oxidative stress, cellular damage, and inflammation. Iron is a highly reactive metal that can catalyze the formation of free radicals through the Fenton reaction, where excess iron interacts with hydrogen peroxide to produce harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS). These unstable molecules damage DNA, proteins, and cell membranes, accelerating the aging process at the cellular level. Over time, this oxidative damage can contribute to wrinkles, cognitive decline, and organ dysfunction.
Additionally, iron overload can cause chronic inflammation, which is a major factor in aging-related diseases. High iron levels activate immune responses that release pro-inflammatory cytokines, leading to tissue damage and increased risk of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders (like Alzheimer's and Parkinson’s), and diabetes. In the skin, excess iron degrades collagen and elastin, reducing skin elasticity and contributing to premature aging. This is also due to the fact that any dysregulation of copper and zinc (which as mentioned above can cause iron overload) can affect collagen synthesis.
At the mitochondrial level, excessive iron impairs energy production, reducing cellular efficiency and accelerating senescence—the process where cells lose their ability to divide and function properly. This leads to a decline in overall vitality and increased susceptibility to age-related diseases.
If you’re curious to see if you have iron overload, the best thing to do is to test yourself 2 ways: run a Full Monty Iron Panel through blood work, because iron is an extracellular element that is more accurately measured via serum, but seeing how other elements affect iron is best attained through a hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA). Running an HTMA is extremely informative, beyond the iron piece, and can even provide answers, as well as solutions, of how to help fixing the iron overload and any symptom that comes with it. To order your HTMA, click here and work with us today!