Dietary Iron/Cardio vascular disease

Too much iron is harmful to cardio vascular health

Source: NIH

Heme iron is the type of iron necessary for red blood cells to function and deliver oxygen to the body. However, the body recycles most of the iron in the red blood cells and unless you are losing blood on a regular basis very little iron is needed in the diet. Iron outside of the blood cells is a potent oxidation force and when loose in the blood may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease due to the damage it does to vascular walls. This is a meta-analysis of studies done to see how dietary intake of heme iron affects the risk of cardiovascular disease. The conclusions of the study were that heme iron intake did increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.