Heme iron versus ferrous gluconate

[cigafred]

Recent bloodwork shows a low iron problem accross several measures. PCP says to take ferrous gluconate. I remember iron discussions from a previous site in which heme iron was recommended for its better absorption, though ferrous gluconate is superior to some other forms in terms of absorption. I cannot find much else to guide me. I am pescatorian, including raw tuna once a week and lots of high-iron veggies. So which should it be--heme for ferrous gluconate?

[I am aware of Patrick's old post reading "Dr. Myers would argue with you regarding the iron. ADT causes the symptoms of anemia & some GPs respond by recommending iron. Myers was fed up at one point about the number of patients who had way too much iron - thanks to their GPs. As Myers says: men don't bleed, at least not on a monthly cycle. There is a debate about whether vegans get enough iron, but iron deficiency is rare in well-nourished men. And excess iron is not benign. &, of course, cancer cells tend to accumulate it."]

[pca2004]

According to the NIH, men should get 8 mg /day.

Mussels & oysters appear to be good sources of heme iron, with 3.5 mg per 3 ounces. Comparable to 3 ounces of beef or chicken liver. Hard to believe.

3 ounces of canned sardines has 2.1 mg, or more.

In contrast, 3 ounces tuna, salmon, haddock, etc. has 0.3 mg, or more.

Vitamin C helps with absorption, whereas phytate /phytic acid hinders it.

Best, -Patrick

[cigafred in reply to pca2004]

Thanks Patrick. I don't want to add to a diet that is constructed for PCa and already has lots of things that are relatively high in iron for their type (fruits and veggies), so I will take the supplement. Oysters and mussels are great occasionally, but I can't see them as frequent menu items.

[Daveofnj]

I had low iron after a bout of COVID. It cleared up after taking Gentle Iron pills by Solgar for two months. Some of the other iron supplements cause constipation.

[Teufelshunde]

In addition to my docs at UChicago, I see Dr Block at the Block Cancer Center in Chicago suburbs. My ferritin is low and other certain iron levels (but not total), and he has me on Floradix liquid which has the ferrous gluconate in it. We will see how that works.

[cashlessclay]

In my experience, iron supplements act as an "accelerant" for prostate cancer. I was on a good PC diet, 7 years ago, with a PSADT of 44 months. I went on an iron supplement after experiencing hematuria, as a radiation side effect. The iron supplement resulted in a PSADT of less than 6 months, completely destroying the diet. Once I removed the iron supplement, the PSADT went back up to 45 months. I had a second bout of hematuria this spring. This time, I left my low iron levels untreated. PSA actually dropped from 0.338 to 0.252.

[cigafred in reply to cashlessclay]

Understood. I have had a lot of hematuria for the last few years, including one hospitalization after six weeks that finally stopped it with amino caproic acid. I certainly hesitated when my PCP recommended iron, but for the moment my iron is so low and my energy so far down that I will give this a try. Any adverse PSA response and I will rethink. Thanks, nice to hear from you again after not seeing much of you recently.

[Tnjw in reply to cashlessclay]

Had a simular issue with low iron and low RBC (on adt), nephrologist prescribed iron infusion and iron supplements...psa increased. Stoped infusions and supplementation, psa went down. Iron interferes with Adt... Dr Meyers has said most men get sufficient iron from their diet. Being plant based B12 is an important factor for RBC .

[PCaWarrior]

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Look into ferrous bisglycinate. 15 mg/day?

[cigafred in reply to PCaWarrior]

Many thanks, great piece of information. Maybe it loses something from the researchers writing in English instead of their native Italian, or maybe I am just dense, but it is not clear to me which supplement they would recommend. They mainly speak of RSL-3 being the agent and of using RSL-3, and they say iron induces RSL. The title says, in part, "Iron supplementation enhances RSL3-induced ferroptosis." But then they speak of using both iron and RSL-3, for example "RSL3 (5 mg/kg) and iron dextran (10 mg/kg)" and " RSL3 (#SML2234), Ferric Ammonium Citrate (FAC, #F5879) and Ferrostatin-1 (#SML0583) were provided by Sigma-Aldrich." I see no reference to ferrous bisglycinate--is that suggestion based on other things and this study just shows that iron is good? In any case, very useful .

[PCaWarrior in reply to cigafred]

Ferrous bisglycinate supposedly has good absorption (much better than non-heme forms). Heme iron absorbs well but some research indicates that it stimulates PCa and that bisglycinate doesn't. I'm skeptical.

Dose isn't spelled out in this or other studies that I have seen. 15 mg/day seems like it is good per some observational studies. Patrick posted one of them. Seemed like a decent study as observational studies go.

I haven't gone through this in detail. I take 20 mg/day one week each month. Not much scientific basis. Just cobbled together various info and tried to make 2+2=4 but likely got 3 or 5...

Heme Iron (11-16 mg) + bicalutamide induces apoptosis: Iron Induces Cell Death and Strengthens the Efficacy of Antiandrogen Therapy in Prostate Cancer Models (silverchair.com)

[cigafred in reply to PCaWarrior]

Gee, something in PCa that is not black and white. I am surprised--not. Thanks again.