Fw: iron-polysaccharides

[Guest guest]

Niferex over the counter = just that.

Forte (rx) adds vit C, intrinsic factor, B12 (not much help to us) and folate.

Thanks,

Vitalady, Inc. T

www.vitalady.com

If you need to take iron supplements, never take ferrous sulfate. In spite of

the fact that many physicians and pharmacists still recommend it, ferrous

sulfate should be regarded as a poison. As soon as ferrous sulfate dissolves in

your stomach, the iron component becomes a pure free radical and begins doing

damage. Some antioxidant vitamins will attack and neutralize this free radical

iron, but then they are not available for counteracting other free radical

damage.

Ferrous fumarate and ferrous gluconate are a somewhat better choice as an iron

supplement; but some iron supplements have been designed to minimize the

potential of free radical damage. Cardiovascular Research sells bovine ferritin.

Since ferritin is a protein, it will be partially broken down in the digestive

tract, but much of the iron in the Cardiovascular Research product should remain

bound to protein, and should not cause as much free radical damage as

conventional iron supplements.

The safest iron supplements are probably the iron-polysaccharide complexes:

essentially iron bound up in a complex sugar molecule. Two pharmaceutical

companies sell this type of iron supplement, which was specifically designed to

minimize the free radical problem. One of these supplements is NIFEREX-150, made

by Central Pharmaceuticals of Seymour, Indiana. NIFEREX-150 contains 150 mg. of

elemental iron. Central also makes an excellent multi-vitamin and mineral

supplement called NIFEREX Daily Tablets, which contains 18 mg. of elemental iron

in the iron-polysaccharide complex, along with other important nutrients.

nd Pharmaceuticals of Greensboro, N.C. also makes an iron-polysaccharide

complex called NU-IRON-150.

Both of these iron-polysaccharide complex products are available without a

prescription, although few stores carry them in stock. Most pharmacies can

special order either product. NIFEREX is generally easier to obtain than

NU-IRON.

The important thing to remember about iron is that too little or too much can

cause devastating health problems. One should be more concerned, though, if

serum iron and ferritin levels are a little high than if they are a little low.

As stated earlier, the generally accepted " normal " ranges of serum iron and

ferritin are higher than what they should be for optimal health. If iron or

ferritin levels are slightly high, the best therapy may be to simply donate

blood occasionally.

One possible alternative to iron supplements in mild cases of anemia is a

combination of high doses of folic acid and vitamin B-12. A typical dose might

be 2000-5000 micrograms of each per day. Whether using iron, folic acid, B-12 or

any combination, it is important to have blood tests before and after any

significant change in supplementation to find out what effect the

supplementation is having. The combination of high dose folic acid and B-12 with

low-dose iron may take an individual from mild anemia to iron overload if the

blood tests are not performed.