Sliced Bread & Iron Additives - Not the The best thing since?

[Dubmatix]

Hi all, I have PV, JAK2+ and on Hydroxy and Aspirin with the odd Venesection when needed.

In order to maintain my HCT (Haematocrit) at my target level, i watch my iron intake as i'm sure others do with similar diagnoses. Now i know "Fortified" cereals are a no no, i've not touched them for 3 years as they contain iron (the organic variants such as Weetabix organic are generally ok but of course have naturally occurring iron) but recently i have noticed that our normal sliced breads (two well known UK brands) now have added iron along with niacin and other vitamins.

Now this is probably to make the nation healthier, but the iron is a problem for PV and has coincided with my recent upward trend in HCT. I have sandwiches daily for work and toast at the weekends so i eat a steady amount of bread through the week.

So now we have been checking other types of bread again, i've always found the cheaper breads don't have extra stuff in but there seems to be less choice. I will go back to making my own again in the winter i think.

Anyway i just wanted to mention the bread iron thing in case it helps others watching their iron levels and numbers, keep checking those labels!

Best Regards

John

Nottingham

[Mazcd Partner MPNVoice]

Hi John, thank you for sharing this information with everyone, definitely something to check if you do need to watch iron intake. Best wishes, Maz

[idi75]

Thank you for this information. It prompted me to look at my high fibre cereals, they too have added iron although my high fibre bread doesn't show any added iron. Definitely something to look out for.

[beetle]

Thank you for posting this. I have to start iron chelation therapy soon because of extremely high ferritin from many transfusions. I never even thought to look at bread for added iron. I rarely eat cereal but have 'straight' porridge oats in the winter sometimes. I will have to start studying food content a bit more carefully I think - although we do most of our cooking from scratch

[Aime]

Hi John, thank you for bringing attention to the fortified cereals and bread which, although I have PV never thought about it. I try and eat a bit of everything so I have a balanced diet so hopefully not adding a lot of extra iron - shame about the chocolate!xx kind regards Aime xx😺😺

[JSKly]

Hello John, I'm a little concerned about your attempt to avoid iron in food so assiduously. Please talk to your haematologist about it. Years ago soon after I was diagnosed with PV I was very concerned about foods adding to the rise of reds. I spoke to a specialist in NYC who teaches at Cornell. He said as an example that I wouldn't be able to eat enough steak at any sitting to raise my hat. We do need iron for healthy function of our bodies so do speak to a doctor about looking after your diet.

Very best wishes on your pv journey. Mines lasted 18 years so far.

[dd21]

Hi John

I am a MPN patient and a craft baker.

This link should take you to the the Food Standard Agency which is run by the UK Government.

food.gov.uk/sites/default/f...

As I understand the legislation, supplementary ingredients that are added to bread making flour as a legal requirement for millers to supplement the general public's diet including iron and calcium. As such, they do not necessarily have to appear on the ingredients list on the food label of the final loaf of bread. Confusingly, if ascorbic acid acid is added to a mix by the baker for its technical benefit to breadmaking, this must be declared (E300), but it is of no nutritional benefit in its more common name (vitamin C), because it is denatured (cooked) during the baking process and wuill not give any health benefits.

Please take advice from your heamatoligist as SKLy sugests. My guess is that you should enjoy a balanced diet of fresh food (including good bread) and the danger for us to avoid are additional high dose food supplements providing exterme contribution to reccommended daily amounts.

The adverts make this so confusing for the consumer and equally the craft food trades.

Given MPN patients' issues with iron, I wonder if we could persuade a qualified dietitian to write a report for our pages?

happy baking

[Dubmatix]

I know this is a late reply to this topic but i thought i ought to clarify the point on my iron consumption. I do not try to avoid iron where it occurs naturally in foods. What i try and avoid is products that are "fortified with iron" such as cornflakes and most other ordinary cereals (this was brought to my attention my Haemotologist). I do rather like cornflakes despite their inherently low nutritional value (the best bit is removed as part o the processing) so i will occasionally have organic ones just for the experience as they are not fortified (or should that be re-fortified!) .

Firtunately i love muesli so i tend to work my way through the Dorset cereals range.

I have reduced my red meat intake but i still eat it. I like a cooked breakfast now and again and will havea good steak as a treat. I make beef stews and other stuff in the slow cooker in the winter and like to cook outdoors too and generally take meat of some sort. So i don't think my diet is unbalanced or affected by my avoiding fortified proucts. I just don't want to be eating extra iron in my bread that i didn't account for.

My surprise was that additional iron is added to a lot of baked products via the flour. Thanks to DD21 for the info, though the info is no longer there sadly. I think its a mistake that it doesn't need to be labelled although kudos to the suppliers that do mention it.

Surely if i buy Organic stoneground flour from the local windmill they won't be adding iron? Maybe that's a question for them.

Anyway i do rather like waking up to the smell of freshly baked bread!

Anyway it's apple juice and cider season, time to get picking!