An excess of iron is implicated in many chronic diseases, but remains ignored in general nutrition advice. Popular medical opinion is that anemia is rampant and caused by iron deficiency, thus most grain-based foods in the United States are fortified with iron. However, anemia is diagnosed with a measurement of hemoglobin, not iron stores. As well, the resulting excess of unliganded iron in an iron fortified diet creates several contingencies such as hydroxyl radicals, fibrin clots in the blood, vascular calcification, and pathogen population increase. Iron levels are best managed with a diet containing substances that chelate iron in the gut or create proteins to chaperone iron in the bloodstream. Many of these dietary practices are under-appreciated by most professionals. In short, there is little recognition in general medical advice for the danger that unliganded iron poses and ways to guard against it.
