Curcumin and low Iron

[Sam]

Very interesting..   I have been using a good amount of curcumin via turmeric and my liver supplement.   Note my last couple blood tests showed low Ferritin.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curcumin

Clinical studies in humans with high doses (2–12 grams) of curcumin have shown few side-effects,[19] with some subjects reporting mild nausea or diarrhea.[20] More recently, curcumin was found to alter iron metabolism by chelating iron and suppressing the protein hepcidin, potentially causing iron deficiency in susceptible patients.[21]

[PeakT]

Very interesting..   I have been using a good amount of curcumin via turmeric and my liver supplement.   Note my last couple blood tests showed low Ferritin.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curcumin

Clinical studies in humans with high doses (2–12 grams) of curcumin have shown few side-effects,[19] with some subjects reporting mild nausea or diarrhea.[20] More recently, curcumin was found to alter iron metabolism by chelating iron and suppressing the protein hepcidin, potentially causing iron deficiency in susceptible patients.[21]

Great article Sam - thx.  You should read the study:  it notes dose dependency.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18815282

"Against this backdrop of subclinical iron deficiency, curcumin exerted profound 2 effects on systemic iron, inducing a dose-dependent decline in hematocrit, hemoglobin, serum iron, and transferrin saturation, the appearance of microcytic anisocytotic red blood cells, and decreases in spleen and liver iron content."

Again, I think the most sane approach is to eat a well-rounded diet with lots of anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory whole foods rather than megadosing one supplement.  The piperine that some of the supplement manufacturers use has always made me nervous for example.

I'll update a couple of my articles with this info as well. 

The one thing I would add, though, is that curry/turmeric/curcumin has a rich research and epidemiological history and I think it is a "superfood" that should not be thrown out due to megadosing issues...

[Sam]

All good points.

I am wondering if I didn't get myself into trouble because I was giving blood and eating lots of Tumeric and including it inmy liver supplement.

Could this be an effective alternative (at the right dose) to high Hgb from TRT?

[Tfan]

Very interesting..   I have been using a good amount of curcumin via turmeric and my liver supplement.   Note my last couple blood tests showed low Ferritin.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curcumin

Clinical studies in humans with high doses (2–12 grams) of curcumin have shown few side-effects,[19] with some subjects reporting mild nausea or diarrhea.[20] More recently, curcumin was found to alter iron metabolism by chelating iron and suppressing the protein hepcidin, potentially causing iron deficiency in susceptible patients.[21]

Great article Sam - thx.  You should read the study:  it notes dose dependency.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18815282

"Against this backdrop of subclinical iron deficiency, curcumin exerted profound 2 effects on systemic iron, inducing a dose-dependent decline in hematocrit, hemoglobin, serum iron, and transferrin saturation, the appearance of microcytic anisocytotic red blood cells, and decreases in spleen and liver iron content."

Again, I think the most sane approach is to eat a well-rounded diet with lots of anti-angiogenic and anti-inflammatory whole foods rather than megadosing one supplement.  The piperine that some of the supplement manufacturers use has always made me nervous for example.

I'll update a couple of my articles with this info as well. 

The one thing I would add, though, is that curry/turmeric/curcumin has a rich research and epidemiological history and I think it is a "superfood" that should not be thrown out due to megadosing issues...

What is considered high dose Tumeric?

[Sam]

Sounds like that depends on your dietary intake.

To test whether the chelator activity of curcumin is sufficient to induce iron deficiency in vivo, mice were placed on diets containing graded concentrations of both iron and curcumin for 26 weeks. Mice receiving the lowest level of dietary iron exhibited borderline iron deficiency, with reductions in spleen and liver iron, but little effect on hemoglobin, hematocrit, transferrin saturation, or plasma iron. Against this backdrop of subclinical iron deficiency, curcumin exerted profound 2 effects on systemic iron, inducing a dose-dependent decline in hematocrit, hemoglobin, serum iron, and transferrin saturation, the appearance of microcytic anisocytotic red blood cells, and decreases in spleen and liver iron content. Curcumin repressed synthesis of hepcidin, a peptide that plays a central role in regulation of systemic iron balance. These results demonstrate that curcumin has the potential to affect systemic iron metabolism, particularly in a setting of subclinical iron deficiency. This may affect the use of curcumin in patients with marginal iron stores or those exhibiting the anemia of cancer and chronic disease.

So its probably something worth considering if you get an abnormal blood test more or less.