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When I was first diagnosed with HH,

my doctor bled me a bunch for the first months.
300 CCs twice a week. He made me anemic to get

my body to use up the iron that was stored in

my heart, liver, pancreas, brain, etc.

Then he slowed down the phlebs until I wasn't

anemic anymore. He told me to take folic acid.

Because folic acid is needed for cell replication

and growth, rapidly regenerating cells such as red
blood cells and immune cells have a high need for

it. Folic acid is found in many foods, such as
asparagus, broccoli, endive, spinach. lima beans.

Anemia and associated diseases compromise the
oxygen-transport capabilities of red blood cells

and the normal immune function of both red and

white blood cells due to increased adhesion,
reduction, or malfunction.

Scientific study strongly suggests that trace
minerals may act as an adjunctive preventive

therapy to reduce the effect of anemia on normal
blood cell function.

Aging, viral infections, blood diseases, and a
variety of drugs, as well as cancer chemotherapy

and radiation therapy, can cause deficits in red
blood cells, white blood cells, and blood platelet
production.

I'm no doctor but I would think being anemic is

not a good thing. Having HH already is very hard

on our bodies. We are 32% more likely to suffer

from stroke and heart attack too.

Symptoms of Anemia

Weakness and faintness

Shortness of breath

Increased heart rate

Headaches

Sore tongue

Nausea and loss of appetite

Dizziness
Bleeding gums
Confusion and dementia
Heart failure in some severe cases

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When I quit eating beef and pork my iron levels

were safe for twice as long. And I started losing

weight at a safe rate.

Of course I wasn't stuffing myself with french bread,

calorie and iron packed sandwiches for my midnight

snacks any longer. I switched from colas to green tea.

More energy and less appetite. Very nice and so good

for the body.

Green tea contains tannins which slow down iron

absorbtion. Another plus. Seeing as how HH affects

the heart and joints I have been taking Omega3 fish oil.

Helps guard against stroke and arthritis problems.

People with hemochromatosis are 32% more likely to

suffer a stroke or heart attack or both. Preventing

cancer of the liver is crucial. Medications should

only be used when absolutely necessary.

Hemochromatosis sufferers that test with elevated

liver enzymes, must avoid acetemetaphen altogether

and alcohol should be avoided. Make sure and pay

attention to processed foods you eat for added iron

or vitamin C. You don't want it. Oatmeal or shreddedbr>
wheat
should be selected instead of fortified breakfast

cereal.

B complex supplements, including B6, folic acid and

B12 are beneficial. Low amounts of vitamin E, 50 IUs

daily is also good for you. Never take any over-the-
counter vitamin C in pill form.
It will facilitate in

storing iron in the heart muscle where it sets up heart

rhythm irregularities.

It can also stir up the iron stored in the joints and

exasperate arthritis. We all need vitamin C in our diet.

Where should we get it? Any raw food. Fruits, juices and

salads are very good choices. Multi vitamins, even those

not containing iron should not be taken because of the

vitamin C.

Those with hemochromatosis should avoid eating or

handling raw seafood. Cooked is fine. Iron overloaded

folks should not walk on beaches without foot protection.

This is because of a bacteria called vibrio vulnificus.

It is common in all sea water. When it mixes with stored

iron, it becomes a deadly toxin. Vibrio vulnificus causes

a number of deaths every year. Pretty scary stuff.

When your body accumulates more iron than it needs,

it will build up and stay in the liver, your heart,

our brains, pancreas, joints and pretty much everywhere.

Iron rusts - and results in dangerous and deadly problems

such as heart disease, diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver,

cancer, arthritis, sexual dysfunction and more.

Having a correct iron level is a great boost to the

immune system. Cancer cells, viruses, and bacteria have

a much more difficult time surviving in a low iron

environment.

Pat was diagnosed with hemochromatosisin 1997.

He has many tips to make phlebotomy and survival

much easier. He can teach you many things that most

doctors don't know.

Check out the HH Bible

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carrot
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye.

The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...

and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and

function of the eyes.

tomato

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers

and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine

and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

grapes

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart.

Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research

today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

walnut

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere,

upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds

on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help

develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

kidney beans

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney

function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

celery

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones.
These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23%

sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough

sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making

them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

avos

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of

the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs.

Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week,
it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents
cervical cancers.

And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow

an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000
photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these

foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

figs

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow.

Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the
numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

sweet potatos

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and

actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

olives

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

oranges

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the

mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the

breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

onions

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions

help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even
produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working

companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous

free radicals from the body.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_glands

In medicine, iron overload disorders are diseases caused by the accumulation of iron in the body. Organs commonly affected are the liver, heart and endocrine glands.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_system

The endocrine system is a system of small organs that involve the release of extracellular signaling molecules known as hormones. The endocrine system is instrumental in regulating metabolism, growth, development and puberty, and tissue function and also plays a part in determining mood.

[1] The field of medicine that deals with disorders of endocrine glands is endocrinology, a branch of the wider field of internal medicine.

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Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HH) is the most common form of hemochromatosis. It is predominately a disorder of persons of northern European extraction.

In this form of hemochromatosis patients are most commonly homozygous for (carry two copies of) the>C282Y mutation of the HFE gene. Sometimes patients may carry one copy of the C282Y mutation and one copy of the H63D mutation. There are other forms of hemochromatosis and iron overload which will be discussed later.

Hereditary hemochromatosis takes many years to display its true nature. This is because it takes time to load iron in the body. Men usually load more quickly than women. This is because women have monthly menstrual cycles and have children. Each pregnancy is equivalent to the loss of 1 gram of iron.

So the bar is “set lower” to confirm the diagnosis of HH in women. Before the true genetic nature of the disorder was recognized the diagnosis was made if the patient could be venesected or deironed of 5 grams of blood (if male) without causing significant anaemia.

If the patient was a woman only 3 grams of iron had to be removed by venesection without causing significant anaemia to make the diagnosis. Liver biopsy was not infrequently employed to confirm the diagnosis.

Now with the ready availability of genetic testing the criteria are different. Often the diagnosis can be made using genetic testing and iron studies. Liver biopsy is often now not necessary.

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Our patient – who we shall call Mrs. Smith

is a small gal. She weighs in at a bit over

108 lbs and is only 5 foot 1 inchs tall. After
Mrs. asmith’s first phlebotomy of 500 mls

(which is equivalent to 250 mcg of iron) she

is totally exhausted and has a tough time

standing for three days.

This is despite adequate hydration before and

after Phlebotomy. This lady is also known to

have osteoporosis (the rate of which is increased

in HH) so it is important that she not fall as she

could easily break an arm or worse a hip. Another
venesection [Phlebotomy] is planned for a week later.

What needs to be done is to decrease the standard
venesection unit down to 250 mls and probably do

this every few weeks after she has adequately

recovered. It will take longer to deiron Mrs. Smith,

but her treatment overall is safer. If she had a

ferritin level of say 2,000 ug/L then it would be

a tougher call. She would need to be deironed more
quickly.

Immediately after venesection a cold pack was

applied to Mrs. Smiths veins. This was done to

preserve the veins. This is especially important

in persons with frail veins and those who will

need multiple venesections.

After another 20 venesections of only 250 mls each

Mrs. Smith has a ferritin level of 46 ug/L. She

has been successfully deironed. Her liver function

tests are now normal and her transferrin saturation

has fallen to 45%.

Proper treatment is to now monitor Mrs. Smith and

see how quickly she loads iron. She is probably a

patient who may only require 2 or 3 (half)

venesections per year.

Why Is It Important To Screen Relatives?

Now Mrs. Smith is from a very large family.

She has 10 siblings, all of whom are younger and
still alive. There are 5 sisters and 5 brothers.

All the siblings are willing to be tested and live

close. Often people simply do not want to know.

This is of course their right.

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Hemochromatosis is critical in order to prevent damage to vital organs and serious complications such as diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver.

For people who are diagnosed and treated early, normal life spans are possible. If left untreated, HH can lead
to severe organ damage such as cirrhosis of the liver.
Diabetes and death are very possible.

Hereditary Hemochromatosis – It can be Treated

Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HH) is the most common genetic disorder of persons of northern European extraction.

The most common gene involved in causing Hereditary Hemochromatosis (HH) is the HFE gene. Most patients with hemochromatosis have two copies of the HFE mutation C282Y.

In persons of northern European extraction approximately 1 in 10 persons carries one copy of C282Y. Even one copy of C282Y can be associated with too much iron in the liver, high cholesterol, diabetes and the skin disorder porphyria cutanea tarda.Approximately 1 in 200 to 300 persons of northern European extraction carry two copies of C282Y.

In some northern European populations eg Ireland, Iceland and Brittany the percentage of persons carrying one copy of C282Y is higher. Predictably countries settled by northern Europeans eg Australia, South Africa and Canada have high rates of hemochromatosis.

HH is characterized by excessive absorption of dietary iron and a consequent progressive increase in total body iron stores. Iron accumulates in the parenchymal cells of the liver, the heart, pancreas, anterior pituitary and skin. This accumulation of iron in body tissues causes disease.

In severe HH the disorder manifests as potentially life threatening conditions such as septicaemia, cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, diabetes, heart failure and heart arrhythmias. Arthritis is common and a severe arthritis involving numerous joints may occur.

Ovarian and testicular failure secondary to iron deposition in the anterior pituitary and possibly the hypothalamus may occur. Rarely hypothyroidism may occur. If HH is not treated liver disease may be fatal. The morbidity and mortality of HH can be reduced by early diagnosis and treatment by phlebotomy or blood letting.

There is frequently a delay between the onset of symptoms and diagnosis. This is because early symptoms such as fatigue and arthralgia are non-specific.

Hereditary Hemochromatosis fits the criteria set by the World Health Organization for population screening for a disease: 1. The homozygous genotype is common and is potentially fatal if not treated 2.

The disease has a lengthy latent period with asymptomatic iron accumulation followed by a period of iron overload with reversible organ injury 3. Treatment during the latent period and the period with reversible organ injury restores the life expectancy to normal. (Treatment is safe, effective and cost effective)

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How bout some good news:

even though most of us know that heme iron (meats) is more easily absorbed than iron found in plants (non-heme), this is actually a good thing.

Heme iron is almost always absorbed, whether your body needs it or not. Non-heme iron (found in vegetables, grains and legumes) is only absorbed in proportion to your body’s need.

If your iron levels are high, less non-heme iron will be absorbed, and if they’re low, you’ll absorb more. Now, doesn’t that sound safe and healthy?

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It is very critical to make an early diagnosis of HH
because patients who have not developed cirrhosis and are
treated by phlebotomy have a normal life expectancy.

danger

When the diagnosis of hemochromatosis is made it is
important to adjust your diet so that too much iron is not
being absorbed because of an improper foods.

One of the biggest considerations are not to take
medications which contain iron, consume any alcohol or
Vitamin C.

The ingestion of GREEN TEA has been shown to decrease
the absorption of iron. African tea which is becoming popular
contains iron so should not be consumed.

Lawrie Powell says “Don’t take milk thistle
which has often been touted as good for the liver as it can

cause severe problems in those with hemochromatosis.

I have HH and when I ’stop’ taking milk thistle I feel
liver pain. So I don’t really know what to say about the
‘don’t take milk thistle’ statement above. The gal really
knows alot regarding HH tho, and her Book is very good.

Don’t eat raw shellfish. They may be contaminated with
Vibrio vulnificans which thrives in an iron rich environment.
There have been fatalities in the northern hemisphere.
Cooking inactivates this organism.

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