Iron. You can’t live without it, but apparently you can’t live with too much of it, either. Especially if you have Down syndrome. I’m pulling this explanation from Circle of Friends, II:
Unless your child has actually been tested and found to be iron-poor anemic, do not give iron supplements or foods that contain supplemental iron. The extra copy of the Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) gene causes extra hydrogen peroxide to be produced in the cells, especially the neurons. The problem with free iron is that it reacts with the hydrogen peroxide, making a very bad thing called a hydroxyl radical, which damages just about every chemical it touches. The chemical reaction in question is called the Fenton Reaction.
Interestingly, Mary has never (to my knowledge) been supplemented with iron, neither in her vitamins nor in any “fortified” foods. Yet, when we check her blood levels of ferritin, she always has adequate iron stores in her body. Yes, apparently a child can get plenty of iron from foods.
This morning I uploaded an explanation of the danger of iron in Down syndrome. It is deep wading, but not too difficult because the explanation was written by Ginger, and she does have a way of making difficult topics understandable to mere humans. Bottom line:
Iron + Hydrogen peroxide = Bad News
And our kids with DS have way too much hydrogen peroxide in their cells.
Filed under: TNI, biocchemistry, nutrition | Tagged: biochemistry, blood tests, iron, nutrition, TNI, vitamins
