Healing Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS): Iron

picture of how iron will help to heal restless legs syndrome (RLS)

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Iron, one of the most abundant metals on Earth, is essential to most life forms and to normal human physiology. Iron is an integral part of many proteins and enzymes that maintain good health. In humans, iron is an essential component of proteins involved in oxygen transport.¹¹⁹ It is also essential for the regulation of cell growth and differentiation.¹²⁰ A deficiency of iron limits oxygen delivery to cells, resulting in fatigue, poor work performance, and decreased immunity.¹¹⁹ On the other hand, excess amounts of iron can result in toxicity and even death.¹²¹

Iron is a mineral essential for life. It is present in every living cell and is necessary for the production of hemoglobin (primary component of red blood cells), myoglobin (major protein of muscle cells) and certain enzymes.¹¹⁷

Calcium and copper must be present for iron to function properly, and ascorbic acid (vitamin c) enhances absorption. Iron is necessary for proper metabolization of B vitamins.¹¹⁷

Iron is an integral part of many proteins and enzymes that maintain good health.¹¹⁹

Iron helps the blood and muscles deliver oxygen, thus energy, to every body cell, and it removes carbon dioxide from them. Iron is important to many immune system functions, and the body self monitors and regulates the absorption and use of iron for varying needs. Benefits include a strong immune system, provision of energy and mental sharpness.¹¹⁷

Almost two-thirds of iron in the body is found in hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to tissues. Smaller amounts of iron are found in myoglobin, a protein that helps supply oxygen to muscle, and in enzymes that assist biochemical reactions. Iron is also found in proteins that store iron for future needs and that transport iron in blood. Iron stores are regulated by intestinal iron absorption.¹¹⁹

Iron deficiency results in a reduced amount of oxygen that is delivered to the cells and leads to fatigue and anemia. Not getting enough iron can also negatively affect your immune system. Deficiency can occur from lack of iron in the diet, difficulty absorbing enough iron from the foods you eat, or from chronic blood loss during menstrual periods.¹¹⁸

The RDA for iron is 18 mg and it is best absorbed when taken on an empty stomach, but can be taken with a meal if it causes stomach upset.¹¹⁷

Iron absorption refers to the amount of dietary iron that your body obtains from food. Healthy adults absorb about 15% of the iron in their diet, but your actual absorption is influenced by your body's iron stores, the type of iron in the diet, and by other dietary factors that either help or hinder iron absorption. The greatest influence on iron absorption is the amount stored in your body. Iron absorption significantly increases when body stores are low. When iron stores are high, absorption decreases to help protect against iron overload.¹¹⁸

A proper iron metabolism protects against bacterial infection. If bacteria are to survive, then they must get iron from the environment. Disease-causing bacteria do this in many ways, including releasing iron-binding molecules called siderophores and then reabsorbing them to recover iron, or scavenging iron from hemoglobin and transferrin. The harder they have to work to get iron, the greater a metabolic price they must pay. That means that iron-deprived bacteria reproduce more slowly. So our control of iron levels appears to be an important defense against bacterial infection. People with increased amounts of iron, like people with hemochromatosis, are more susceptible to bacterial infection.¹²²

Although this mechanism is an elegant response to short-term bacterial infection, it can cause problems when inflammation goes on for longer. Since the liver produces hepcidin in response to inflammatory cytokines, hepcidin levels can increase as the result of non-bacterial sources of inflammation, like viral infection, cancer, auto-immune diseases or other chronic diseases. When this occurs, the sequestration of iron appears to be the major cause of the syndrome of anemia of chronic disease, in which not enough iron is available to produce enough hemoglobin-containing red blood cells.¹²³

We also absorb less iron during times of inflammation.¹²⁴ Inflammation decreases the production of red blood cells by releasing small proteins that effect how your body uses iron and how your body produces erythropoietin, a hormone that controls production of red blood cells. Since your red blood cells carry oxygen, when there are not enough of them your body's organs do not get enough oxygen.¹²⁵

How to Best Absorb Iron Supplements

1. Take iron and vitamin C together. The presence of vitamin C can increase iron's absorption by as much as 30 percent.

2. Avoid taking an antacid at the same time you take iron. Stomach acid is needed to properly absorb iron.

3. Take iron at the same time as copper, manganese and molybdenum. They are needed for complete iron absorption.

4. Avoid using excessive amounts of zinc and vitamin E, which can interfere with iron absorption.

5. Take vitamin A and B complex at the same time as iron. They are also needed for complete iron absorption.

"How to Best Absorb Iron Supplements" eHow.com www.ehow.com/how_4545_absorb-iron-supplements.html

SUMMARY: Iron will work with the other minerals to help heal and replenish the cells that are not functioning at their potential because of prolonged inflammation. Iron helps the blood and muscles deliver oxygen to every body cell and also removes carbon dioxide from them. This will enable the other vitamins, minerals and herbs to heal your cells/tissue faster and more effectively. Iron in the diet will also help prevent inflammation from occuring in the future.