Ironic Blood

Ironic Blood
Kids and Hemochromatosis

Editor Steve Barfield

Early science has determined that children can not have hemochromatosis. Some pediatricians
will stubbornly hold this position. We recently discovered this in an Indiana doctor. But kids can
have iron overload. Anyone can have too much iron from neonates to the very elderly. There are
only a few differences between adult and childhood iron problems.

Symptoms - What does it look like in kids:

Children with excess iron might have allergies, asthma, seizure disorders, autism, ADHD, dyslexia,
psychological problem, anemia and eating disorders. Basically the profile of a child with too much
iron is that their health seems compromised. They are often a little behind their peers in development.
Late to puberty, thinner, frailer, smaller in stature, gray cast to the skin are examples of things that can
happen to kids. Especially the chronic health problems found in adults such as heart conditions,
arthritis and diabetes should alert the physician to the possibility that this problem is iron based. There
is good news in acknowledging and treating the iron for it can reverse symptoms and return the patient
to a normal lifespan. Lets look further into ADHD.

There is emerging science that suggest that ADHD is in fact an immaturity of the brain. That this brain
is too anxious for information and is easily distracted by any new prospect for information. This fits
perfectly with how iron overload can interfere with brain development. It is as though children with
learning disabilities have a slower maturing brain. This is a brain that still has vestiges of the infant
brain and has a compromised ability to concentrate. Mothers routinely use this characteristic to distract
babies from unwanted behaviors. Of course extreme brain iron involvement might lead to Autism.

Autism too has been associated with hemochromatosis. There has been recent media excitement over
a wheat-free diet that seems to help with this condition. The reason this diet seems to help is that kids
with too much iron also have food allergies as a symptom. You have to think that some adult patients
are cases that have been missed since childhood.

Iron is the chief cause of death in children through accidental poisonings. A toddler left with an
unattended bottle of bottle of iron pills is a recipe for disaster. This means that a one time extreme
exposure is enough to kill a young child.

How did this happen?

Basically the American attitude towards supplementation is flawed. I've heard them say on TV
that "everyone will benefit by supplementing with multivitamins." We know from the CDC as reported
in Time Magazine - Aug. 3, 2009 that in considering infant deaths per 1,000 births, America ranked
29th behind other modern nations in baby survivals. There may be social and economic reasons to be
considered when looking for cause. But a major cause of birth problems that is the always neglected
is iron overload. Preemies, birth defects, SIDS and stillbirths have all been associated with excess iron.
What about mother's milk vs. cow's milk?

We know from Professor of Medicine Eugene Weinberg at Indiana University that lactoferrin is an
iron binding protein found in all mammal milk. He tells us that this protein binds iron in the newborn
gut protecting against naturally occurring pathogens for the first 6-8 months of life. Babies are born
with all of the iron they will need for this period. Professor Weinberg also finds that mother's milk
has 95% more lactoferrin than cow's milk. This might explain why some bottle fed babies have colic.
When babies are started on solid food is their first opportunity for outside iron. At this point we are
trusting the baby food industry to formulize the proper amount of iron. Let us hope that they are not
driven by the iron myth: that iron is good for everybody all the time and you have to struggle to get
enough.

How to fix this:

This is an easy fix. We need a new awareness towards the nutrient iron in both our culture and our
Medicine. Children should never be supplemented with iron without first checking their iron status.
Newly pregnant women need to have their iron assessed before deciding which supplements are
safe. Excess iron is so ruinous to health that our organization recommends universal screening for
every man, woman and child in the U.S. at each and every physical. Every lab report should employ
the entire iron panel. You can not check iron with hemoglobin or hematocrit. Insurance companies
take note that prevention is cheaper than managing neglect.

If anyone has a kid and iron story to relate, please call our office at:
561-586-8246

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