Lifeline Therapeutics (fka LFLT)

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Dr Joe McCord discussing free radicals


Our bodies need iron; it's fundamental to the creation and maintenance of our blood supply, notes Joe McCord, PhD, a professor of biochemistry and medicine at Denver's University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. But the twin miracles of evolution and modern science have given us too much of a good thing. Back when we were wandering hunters and gatherers, our bodies hoarded iron whenever possible because we never knew if we'd get more. Now, however, we can get enough iron from well-balanced diets and supplements. Yet our bodies still accumulate the metal as if there were a shortage.

Sullivan first hypothesized that stored iron may contribute to heart attacks back in 1981, just a couple of years before the cholesterol study unleashed an anti-fat frenzy. Since then, he believes, the cholesterol police have been leading us in the wrong direction. "I think the role of cholesterol in heart disease is vastly overrated, Sullivan says, "and I question whether lowering it will do much good."

If you believe Sullivan, what will work is decreasing your iron levels by giving up a cup or two of blood every few months. But while becoming a regular donor may be admirable, does it really help your health?

Good fat gone bad

According to the conventional view, a buildup of cholesterol collects in our blood vessels as plaque, narrowing the arteries and, in the worst cases, eventually cutting off the flow of blood, causing a heart attack. But anti-iron advocates believe the metal plays an integral role in this process.

McCord has some ideas about why this would be so. Fat and cholesterol are natural parts of our diet and metabolism, he says. But when you add iron, these otherwise harmless substances oxidize, becoming deadly killers.

"When you leave a stick of butter out, it goes rancid," McCord says. "That may happen in the body as well. With oxidation, the properties of the fat or cholesterol change, forming plaque that builds up in the arteries."

The main problem is free radicals, unstable oxygen molecules that our bodies create just by living and breathing. These molecules have only one electron instead of the normal two, and they sneak up on other oxygen molecules and steal their electrons; this sets off a veritable crime wave of electron theft, damaging cells throughout your body and accelerating the aging process. You can lessen the impact with foods containing antioxidant vitamins such as C and E. Iron, on the other hand, may exacerbate the oxidation process and release more free radicals, helping turn harmless fat and cholesterol into blood vessel-dogging plaque.

It isn't just the heart that's harmed in this process, McCord claims. The general increase in free radicals and the resulting rancidity of the body's fat may damage cells throughout the body, making them more vulnerable to all manner of disease and infection. That's because cell boundaries, or "walls," are made of fat, and the increased oxidation caused by iron compromises cellular integrity, negatively affecting every organ in which they're located. This would mean that high iron levels not only increase the risk of heart attack, they also heighten the likelihood of fatality and a more difficult recovery, as well as worsening the effects of other illnesses.

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_n7_v14/ai_20946893#continue