Iron supplements: the quick fix with long-term consequences

A growing public awareness of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle has been accompanied by an explosive use of nutraceuticals over the past decade. This has afforded the opportunity for increased historical and planned trials of the benefits and risks involved in taking supplements. In particular, emphasis has been placed on the anti-oxidant arsenal, which is an area that has been well studied but ambiguous. A great many studies have been conducted on the effects of anti-oxidant consumption after absorption at the molecular level (for example in blood), but critically most have overlooked the initial deleterious effects on the GI Tract.Recently, vigorous debate has ensued regarding the toxic side-effects of nutraceutical self-administration. The health advantages of vitamin C have been widely reported. Vitamin C has been shown to exhibit anti-oxidant effects at low doses but conversely at high doses it becomes a pro-oxidant [1]. Studies have shown that vitamin C intake above the RDA frequently occurs and is attributed to the increase in supplementation in addition to dietary sources. A recent report gave vitamin C intake levels with 1524% RDA (50 mg) in supplement users however even in non-supplement users the recommended levels were exceeded with an average intake of 210% [2].A daily intake exceeding the RDA was also found for other key nutrients such as iron. The daily intake of iron was found to be 1874% of the published Korean RDA (18 mg) for supplement users in comparison to 62% RDA for non-supplement users. This dramatic finding pertained to some one third of the population. Elevated ingestion of ferrous iron leads to the generation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress [3]. High tissue concentrations of iron are associated with a number of pathologies including some cancers, inflammation, diabetes, liver and heart disease [4].Despite these alarming figures, iron supplementation is very common. It is often taken