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Introduction
Iron is involved in a whole range of biological processes and a consistent supply of iron is crucial for cellular turnover. But despite iron being an essential mineral for human function, it is highly toxic to cells and tissues if present at high levels. Therefore an intricate and tight regulation of iron is necessary.
If iron status gets too low, iron-deficiency anaemia can result. In such situations there is a shortfall in hemoglobin production, which leads to a range of issues in the body.
So how is iron status measured? Which biomarkers are most useful? Where can errors in diagnosis occur? What problems arise with iron deficiency? And what problems occur with iron overload?
In this episode, these questions (and more) are put to Dr. Austin Baraki, a practicing Internal Medicine physician and Assistant Professor of Medicine at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in Texas.
This episode is the first in a three-part series on iron.
Related resources
- Join the Sigma newsletter for free
- Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium
- Become a member of Alan Flanagan’s Alinea Nutrition Education Hub
- Previous episodes with Dr. Baraki:
- Barbell Medicine
- Functions of iron in the body
- Iron homeostasis
- Biomarkers and testing
- Consequences of iron deficiency and excess
- Crucial aspects of accurate diagnosis
- Correcting deficiencies
Guest Information
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Dr. Austin Baraki is a practicing Internal Medicine physician and Assistant Professor of Medicine at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, as well as teaching faculty at the Burrell College of Medicine. He is also a competitive powerlifter and coach, working with Barbell Medicine to promote evidence-based information pertaining to health and fitness.
Danny Lennon has a master’s degree (MSc.) in Nutritional Sciences from University College Cork, and he is the founder of Sigma Nutrition.
Danny is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Sports Nutrition Association, the global regulatory body responsible for the standardisation of best practice in the sports nutrition profession.
Introduction to this Episode
Iron is involved in a whole range of biological processes and a consistent supply of iron is crucial for cellular turnover.
But despite iron being an essential mineral for human function, it is highly toxic to cells and tissues if present at high levels. Therefore an intricate and tight regulation of iron is necessary.
If iron status gets too low, iron-deficiency anemia can result. In such situations there is a shortfall in hemoglobin production, which leads to a range of issues in the body.
This leads to many questions, for example:
- So how is iron status measured?
- Which biomarkers are most useful?
- Where can errors in diagnosis occur?
- What problems arise with iron deficiency?
- And what problems occur with iron overload?
In this episode, these questions (and more) are put to Dr. Austin Baraki, a practicing Internal Medicine physician and Assistant Professor of Medicine at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in Texas.
Dr. Baraki was previously on the podcast in episodes 334 and 417:
- 334: Potential Harms of Screening, Overdiagnosis and Overtreatment
- 417: What Do Nutrient Blood Tests Actually Tell Us?: Understanding Biomarkers
[Note: there are a few terms related to this topic that have different spellings in ʻUS Englishʼ and ʻUK Englishʼ. In these notes, we will default to US spellings for consistency. But just note you may be more familiar with alternative spellings, or see different spellings in research publications, depending on the authors. For example: heme/haem, hemoglobin/haemoglobin, anemia/anaemia]
