Iron, Food Enrichment and the theory of everything article, plus studies that talks about SOD and other antioxidants that are associated with the rusting process. Also, the connection about menopause and how diseases follow iron dysregulation.
Things that go ‘bump’ in the night. My advice, grab your seatbelt as this is likely going to be a brief, bumpy and bewitching ride.
As many as you know I go into this world of nutrition because I was convinced everyone simply had a magnesium deficiency. Thus was born my wellness quest and exposed my nutritional/metabolic naiveté.
I have journeyed for the last 7 years to make sense of this dynamic, with stops to better understand the dynamics of Na/K, vitamin-D, copper toxicity/dysregulation, and ceruloplasmin metabolism. All was going reasonably well until the universe dropped the Ace-in-the-Hole: Iron overload.
As I pursue this with a vengeance, I now realize why magnesium is getting hosed, and why copper is so dysregulated. How the mechanics of understanding the oxidative stress and the role of copper dependent enzymes (SOD, GSH [GSH-Px], and CAT) to stop this rusting process. Also the role of iron to create free radicals (ROS) is legendary in the research labs around the globe.
Okay, so where am I going today?
Here are four (4) articles that I invite all who are interested about re-gaining their health and metabolic equilibrium:
If you take the time to read those articles, which will keep you busy off Facebook for a good long while. What you’ll soon discover is that we’re being poisoned by iron, in our food, properties of our water, Rx meds, vaccines, etc. The scale of it is mind numbing to say the least.
For those that don’t know Joseph McCord, PhD, he and his advisor, Irwin Fridovich, PhD discovered superoxide dismutase (SOD) at Duke University in the late 1960’s. It is the enzyme that is designed to neutralize the superoxide radical (that’s an oxygen molecule with an attitude!), as he points out in Equations #2 & #3 in the 1991 study above (It is also known as the famous Haber/Weiss formula). In the absence of copper dependent SOD, it is a major source of ROS, especially the hydroxyl radical (OH) that causes so much destruction of lipids on the cell membrane and proteins & DNA within the cell.
And what is the gist of Jian (2009)? This group of enterprising researchers is taking a very different look at the aging process, especially the much-discussed state of menopause. Essentially, what they are challenging is that the core issues of this transition are equally related to iron overload, as they are to a lack of estrogen.
It is a different way of viewing menopause, and the key conditions that are associated with this:
Hot flashes.
Osteoporosis
Skin aging.
All brought to us by dysregulated iron, courtesy of an organism that is swimming in bio-unavailable copper and too little ceruloplasmin. Both of which are essential for the proper regulation of all facets of iron metabolism.
There are folks who are chasing stratospheric levels of ferritin, calcium supplements, Fosamax, and HRT appears to be out of touch with what the leading research outlined above. When you factor in the iron fortification that is the underpinning of our flour, then it will hit home. The irony of this dynamic is captivating.
Nothing could be further from the truth. If your health care provider believes that being female automatically means iron deficient anemia (IDA), this may be a red flag pointing to a need for a deeper understanding of how the body works.
The more I read, the more I learn about iron overload caused by copper deficiency (as in lack of ceruloplasmin), the more convinced I am that mineral dysregulation is at the base of most, if not all chronic diseases. It has profound implications for magnesium, copper, calcium, oestrogen, thyroid function etc.
Copper is the key to the activation of the enzyme needed to make Estrogen. When copper is not so proper, (i.e. lack of the key anti-oxidant, ceruloplasmin) it gets bound to estrogen as it, too, is an anti-oxidant.
So, what is the connection to Iron? Please review this article:
Broderius, M., et al. (2012). “Suppressed hepcidin expression correlates with hypotransferrinemia in copper-deficient rat pups but not dams.”
There are many switchbacks in that study, but suffice it to say that estrogen has an effect on hepcidin, which affects iron metabolism. I have not sorted this entire mechanism out, as hepcidin works best with proper copper, and I’m just now getting my head around the estrogen >> hepcidin >> ferroportin angle.
Hope you find this blog as enlightening as I did this morning.
A votre santé!
MORLEY M. ROBBINS
If you would like to read the original discussion thread on Facebook, please head here.
It is my fervent “D”ream that this be my LAST blog on the relentless “D”ebate on Hormone-D… “Hope springs eternal!,” as my consultant mentor, Jerry McManis, used to say…
As a teaser, let me borrow the Introduction from a wonderfully insightful, contemporary (2013) and brief (2 pgs), article by Armin Zittermann on this vital issue: “Life depends on an energy-consuming complex interplay of organic and inorganic substances to maintain biological structures. Adequate energy and nutrient supply is a prerequisite to guarantee normal functioning of metabolic pathways and thus a healthy life. To become metabolically active, several nutrients require other essential nutrients as cofactors (emphasis added). For example, copper is required for the oxidation of absorbed Fe2+ to [become] Fe3+, which is then bound to transferrin; and riboflavin (vitamin B2) and pyridoxine (vitamin B6) are required to produce niacin (vitamin B3) from dietary tryptophan. Therefore, some nutrition-related illnesses, such as anemia and pellegra, can be caused by multiple nutrient deficits [1,2]. Magnesium (Mg) is a cofactor that is required for the binding of vitamin-D to its transport protein. Moreover, conversion of vitamin-D by hepatic 25-hydroxylation and renal 1a-hydroxylation into the active, hormonal form 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin-D (1,25(OH)2D) is Mg dependent [3,4]. (emphasis added, again!) “
Be still my heart… Did Dr. Zittermann really just say that vitamin-D is dependenton Maggie?… Indeed he did, and that’s what this entire blog is ALL about.
I should point out that the stimulus for this blog is the result of a recent post on the MAG FB Group by one of the more research-savvy MAG-pies re an article entitled “Inflammation and Vitamin-D: the infection connection.” (click ‘download PDF’ for the full text). While I don’t entirely “buy” this contemporary theory that this “epidemic” of Vitamin-D deficiency is the result of bacterial infections (Pasteur’s grip on practitioner’s sanity is relentless despite his death 120 years ago…), but the important thing is that it jarred me to revisit some other research that I’d known about, but hadn’t fully connected. In particular, a key phrase in the conclusion from Mangin et al’s 2014 article is quite relevant: ” Some authorities now believe that low 25(OH)D is a consequence of chronic inflammation rather than the cause.”
To the unwashed heathen, that is a realization HUGE !… Particularly when you come to realize that the metabolic CAUSE of ALL Inflammation is Mg deficiency…
Say what?…
Let me introduce you to another one of my many Maggie Heroes: William B. Weglicki, MD, FACC. He’s a Harvard-trained Cardiologist who’s been stirring the “Inflammation Pot” for the past 40 years and proving that the intracellular precursor to Inflammation is a significant lack of Magnesium to run the cellular machinery. His initial blockbuster series of articles to that effect were in 1992, and he’s not let up his focus nor his passion to prove this mineral point. And unlike many high brow researchers, he’s most accessible and a delight to chat with — which I’ve had the pleasure of on numerous occasions…
In any event, an important article that is quite relevant to this topic was his recent (2010) article entitled “The Role of Magnesium Deficiency in Cardiovascular and Intestinal Inflammation.” If anyone’s looking for a powerhouse article to PROVE to their MD (Mineral Denialist) that Maggie Matters — this would be an excellent one! The real significance of his Lab’s research is that Mg deficiency triggers the release of Substance P (which stands for “Production!”) and SP then signals the entire Inflammatory Cascade of TNFa, IL-1, IL-6 and the subsequent series of cytokines and chemokines involved in the Inflammatory process. In a phrase, this is a BIG deal, but it’s a MOST disruptive model that violates the allopathic code that “disease comes from outside,” as noted in the earlier article. Dr. Weglicki has proven beyond a shadow of doubt that “Stress!” >> Mg Loss >> Inflammatory Cascade.
That is a gross over-simplication of his decades of research, but the critical point for this blog is that Mg deficiency is a foundational event for Inflammation, thus shedding different light on the Mangin, et al study noted above.
And now we’re ready for the culmination of the recent research. Xinqing Deng, MD and his colleagues at Vanderbilt & Harvard have recently published an important article in BioMedCentral-Medicine: “Magnesium, Vitamin-D status and Mortality: results from the US NHANES 2001 to 2006 and NHANES III.” This is a study that warrants careful review and reflection.
Their conclusion is key to our objective for better understanding the metabolic originof Vitamin-D deficiency: “Our preliminary findings indicate it is possible that Magnesium intake alone or its interaction with vitamin-D intake may contribute to vitamin-D status.”
The key figure in this article says it all:
(Regrettably, I can’t get it to load… it’s on pg 2, and I’ll add it later…)
The important point is that it reinforces and validates EXACTLY what Dr. Zittermann was saying earlier re the importance of nutrient cofactors dictating the status of another nutrient.
And thus the purpose and intent of the title for this capstone blog: Vitamin-D deficiency IS a clinical sign of Mg deficiency, imho. Or, I could be more succinct and use the oft-quoted quip based upon James Carville, a la Bill Clinton, “It’s Magnesium deficiency, stupid!”
So, I’ll give it a rest here…
You’ve got lot’s to read and absorb, but the important point, underscoring the philosophy of MAG, yet again, we have been Misled and Misfed… It’s time to give this “D”ebate a well “D”eserved termination. And the sooner folks learn to see their “Vitamin-D deficiency” for what it REALLY is, the better off we will ALL be… A votre sante!
“one of the most difficult conundrums for the experts”
It seems like we can’t live with Copper, and certainly can’t live without it… This alleged “demonic” mineral drives 30+ enzymes that are incredibly essential to our day-to-day life: lysyl oxidase, Beta dopamine hydroxylase, diamine oxidase, cytochrome c oxidase, ascorbate oxidase, to name but a few… (And in a future blog I’ll explain WHY these, and ~25 other, enzymes are soooooooo very important… be ready to have your minds blown!)
All too often, the few authors who brave to comment on “Copper Toxicity” fail to point out how life-enhancing bioavailable Copper is for all of us. Regrettably, we are being trained, like Circus Bears, to fear it, to shun it, to detox it from our bodies and our livers. Given the “toxic” levels of Copper in our environment (soy everywhere, Copper pipes, Copper Sulfate for produce, water treatment, etc., BCPs, anti-biotics, and so on…), it is more than understandable that we flinch when this mineral topic arises.
But please know that when it’s in a state of deficiency — as it is in most inhabitants on this Planet — it’s a metabolic crisis, as those enzymes noted above simply do NOT work. Period. Oh, and did I forgot to mention that there are 150-200 methyltransferase enzymes that run our methylation pathway, and thus the genetic machinery of our cells? It turns out that they, too, are Copper-dependent… Fascinating, eh?… More on that in a future blog.
And how does this Copper Conundrum exist as BOTH “too much,” and “too little?…”
As Ann-Louise Gittlemen, PhD points out in her wonderful book, “Why Am I Always So Tired?” , weak Adrenals become MAGNETS for excess, unbound Copper. How so? Under “Stress-free!” conditions, the Adrenals signal the Liver to make optimal levels of Ceruloplasmin (Cp) — a key transport protein for both Copper and its sister mineral, Iron. And when the Adrenals are fatigued, as they are from chronic levels of Mg-depleting “Stress!”, the Cp tanks, and the Copper Conundrum rears it’s ugly head:
too much unbound Copper (that is “toxic” inside the cell…)
too little bound Copper (that results in notable deficiencies of Copper-dependent enzymes…)
Et Voila!
Knowing all that, what are some proven ways to “Stress!” the Adrenals and ensure that Copper deficiency builds: (Btw, did you catch the twist in that statement?… I’m teaching HOW to create a shortage of Copper… 😉 )
Excess Calcium in the diet blocks Copper absorption in the gut…
Excess Phytates in the diet (think “Green Smoothies!) block Copper absorption, as well…
Excess Iron (think supplements and Molasses) block Copper metabolism…
Excess Ascorbic Acid destroys the bond between Copper & Cp, this rendering us Copper deficient…
Excess HFCS is noteworthy for it’s efficiency to build Iron and create Copper deficiency…
and I’ll go out on a limb, me thinks that excess Hormone-D, by virtue of it’s known effect on elevating Calcium in the blood, ensures that the 1st point is a certainty…
OK, that’s a lot of blah, blah, blah… Let me bring it home for you. Let me especially bring it home for the “Thyroid Hormone Rules ALL” crowd. Please take a moment and read this wonderful article from 1982 on this vital mineral for proper Thyroid function: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/112/11/2043.full.pdf
Interesting that your Mineral Denialist practitioner has NEVER breathed word one about Thyroid & Copper…
And here’s an interesting companion article from 1962 that addresses the vital role of Maggie for the Thyroid: http://jn.nutrition.org/content/77/4/455.full.pdf
Yes, I realize that these are BOTH addressing sophisticated research 0n RATS from long, long ago. Sometimes the truth is buried where you least expect it. And please don’t get lost in the details of the Methodology sections of these very dry studies. A close read of the Abstract and the last 2-3 paragraphs is a great summary of their findings and conclusions.
So what’s my point in all these comments?
Once again, we have been “Misled and Misfed” by the very people we trusted the most with our health. And given the central role that Copper and Magnesium appear to play in OPTIMAL Thyroid function and health, isn’t it fascinating that our “D”octors focus on Calcium and Iron — two minerals that are their biological antagonists. And isn’t it further fascinating that the entire processed food industry is stacked against us, as well?…
So what’s the net, net of all this?…
If I were taking a synthetic Thyroid hormone — like 100 million Americans & unknown numbers globally — I’d want to know my true cellular status of both Copper and Magnesium, and I’d certainly make some serious changes in my diet to steer away from the conventional focus of “convenience” foods.
Call me crazy, but it appears that these lowly minerals really do run the body and it’s component parts… And the faster we come to accept and act on that foundational truth, the faster we’ll regain our health freedom — the most precious asset we can own…
Dear MAG-pies…
As we close in on having 16,000 members in our midst, I thought that I’d share some intriguing quotations, some tried & true, but also some new…
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”
“Ας το φάρμακο είναι τα τρόφιμα και τα τρόφιμα σου είναι ότι το φάρμακο” (what he REALLY said… 😉 ) — Hippocrates (c. 460 BCE – c. 370 BCE) The Mythical physician of Oath fame…
“Practicing medicine without knowledge of biochemistry and physiology is merely pop-gun pharmacy”
— Sir William Osler (1849 – 1919) – THE Physician modern doctors aspire to be…
“Magnesium should be considered a food, and not a drug…”
— Prof. Pierre Delbet (1861-1957) — famous WWI Field Surgeon who relied on Maggie…
“Profits can ONLY be harvested from chronic disease…:
— CEO of dominant Pharmaceutical firm at a 2002 Shareholder’s meeting
Now let’s step back and please
Re-read these quotations…
Reflect on what these four statements are really saying to us… and
Respond with appropriate & corrective action(s)…
Please know, we are ALL being treated like those familiar “lead” pieces that we played with in our youth, but know it’s now on a “Medical Monopoly Board.” The system is designed to “move us” around that board, and make $$$$ off of our ailments — most of which of are CAUSED by simple mineral deficiencies.
Again, the object of conventional medicine is to treat our disease, NEVER correct the underlying metabolic dysfunction, caused by those nigglely missing minerals.
Yes, it really is that basic.
Yes, it really is time to for us all to “Wake Up!” A votre sante!
