Do you know the majesty of Iron?
Iron is one of the most stable medium atomic elements there is. It is the first metal after the abundant gases and is the core of every solid object in the Universe. Without it, no planet, star, sun, pulsar, meteorite, or comet would spin or fly through space because, in a vacuum, there is no thrust or propulsion, unless you have IRON (and magnetic forces) at work.
Despite the great many studies and information available on iron (more information available on iron than any other trace mineral), it is still the number one deficiency in the world, with many questions and problems remaining, unresolved. For example, one in four women in the United Kingdom between the ages of 14 and 42 have anaemia, and for men it is one in six. People do not always realise that they are iron deficient, but this should not be ignored. A lack of iron, or inadequate levels of iron, can lead to long term health problems. The first and most vital step in addressing iron deficiency is the diet. A varied diet is essential and would include iron-rich dark leafy vegetables (such as kale, spinach, and dandelion), iron-rich legumes (such as lentils, peas, tofu, kidney, and cannellini), iron-rich fruits (such as dates, prunes, and figs), iron-rich protein sources (such as meat, poultry, and fish), blackstrap molasses and hemp seeds. It is important to note that foods containing phytates (e.g. cereals and grains) and polyphenols (e.g. tea and coffee) may decrease iron absorption by 33% to 50%.
A focus on Soil
At the time of this writing, the soils around the world are very low in minerals, including in the United Kingdom. Our soils should provide many nutrients that plants and humans require and therefore there is a direct link between soil health and human health. Starting with affecting the nutritional value of crops, in the last ten years, there have been decreases in iron concentrations greatest in our green leafy vegetables by 43%. Magnesium, Selenium and Zinc are now also dangerously low in most of the soil in the United Kingdom. In addition, studies have shown our low intake of greens is directly correlated with a greater risk of several chronic diseases, such as metabolic disorders, reduced immune, endocrine, and cognitive function, even delayed or inadequate physical development.
Fundamentals of Iron
There are two types of iron: Heme-iron (derived from haemoglobin and myoglobin of animal food sources) called ferrous-Iron (Fe2+) and Non-Heme Iron (derived from plants and iron-fortified foods) called Ferric Iron (Fe3+). Ferrous iron is absorbed much better than Ferric Iron and therefore we mostly consume ferrous iron, as this is more commonly used, due to its bioavailability and can be an effective supplement if taken in smaller quantities. Iron is absorbed best on an empty stomach.
If someone is anaemic or urgently requires iron in larger concentrations, a volume of ferrous iron supplements will affect the gut health adversely, and you will start experiencing a range of unpleasant side effects such as stomach cramps, nausea, dizziness, disturbed intestinal flora, constipation, dark stools, and a metallic taste in the mouth. Ferrous iron also produces free radicals in your intestines, which will impact your gut microflora, wherein the bad bacteria tend to prosper, lowering the good bacteria, which alters your intestinal balance. All these lead to a range of side effects especially bloating, and at the extreme you may even start experiencing blood in your faeces. A plethora of irrefutable evidence has shown that a loss of homeostatic equilibrium between nutrient interactions and malabsorption can have an adverse effect upon health. Ferrous iron works synergistically with Vitamin C and to a lesser extent Vitamins A, D, B2, B12, folic acid and magnesium.
Elemental iron (iron as an element, not a compound) is not bound to any other substances and therefore, will not have any of the adverse effects of bonded iron compounds, as described above. The adult human body contains from 3 to 5 g of iron, approximately 2000 mg as haemoglobin and 8 mg as enzymes.
Iron has a role in respiratory transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide and is an active part of enzymes involved in the process of cellular respiration. Iron is also a key player in immune function and cognitive performance. The iron-containing protein heme combines with oxygen in the lungs and with carbon dioxide in the tissues. Oxidative production of ATP within the mitochondria involves many ironcontaining enzymes, both heme and non-heme. Two iron-binding proteins, transferrin and lactoferrin, protect against infection by withholding iron from microorganisms, that need it for proliferation. Iron is critical for normal brain function at all ages and is involved in the function and synthesis of neurotransmitters and myelin.
In summary Iron is an essential component of hundreds of proteins and enzymes supporting essential biological functions, such as oxygen transport, energy production, DNA synthesis and cell growth and replication. Iron is unique compared to other minerals, as iron levels in the body are controlled only by absorption. The mechanism of iron excretion is an unregulated process through many factors such as loss in sweat, menstruation, shedding of hair and skin cells.
What this means is: Iron is very hard to store and your body can excrete iron even when you desperately need it.
Plants are designed to absorb microminerals such as Iron at nanometre sizes. Most of the minerals in our diets come directly from plants or indirectly from animal sources. Roots of plants are designed to break down the soil to absorb and utilise mineral particles the size of a nanometre**. Plants can only absorb minerals in an ionic form or nanometer size. Organic matter breaks down in the humus layer of the soil, creating small enough particles for our bodies to use.
With the help of fulvic acid from the humus material, plants can take these minerals in, and break them down into nanometre size which they use. Plants do not absorb larger particles because they cannot assimilate them. Thus, the food we eat transfers nanometre size minerals from the soil to us via the plants. This miraculous process has been inherent to sustaining humanity and all life forms on the planet, for billions of years and it is paramount for our future evolutionary existence, that we continue to consume these nanometre mineral particles.
Crucially, when it comes to iron, only 1 – 2 mg of the 8mg that we have in the body comes from intestinal iron sources (iron in the diet absorbed through different pathways in the small intestine). The rest of the iron we have at any time is only found in our cellular deposits (in our cytoplasm). Thus, our cellular deposits is important in providing adequate iron levels, especially as the mitochondria use most of the metabolically active iron at a very high demand. Only nanometre iron particles, can be absorbed intracellularly. It is therefore especially important to ensure adequate reserves are available when required, for instance, to activate proper DNA structures, such as synthesis and repair, to wit the basis for cell growth and reproduction.
All living systems are dependent on Nano Minerals. A good illustration is nano mineral iron found in Marine Phytoplankton. Electron microscopy has noted nanoparticles between 0.5 – 10 nm which confer two main factors: the stability of the nano mineral iron and complete iron absorption by the phytoplankton. This is intrinsic to our entire oceans’ ecosystem and ultimately human survival.
Absorption of Iron
The absorption of most dietary iron occurs in the duodenum and proximal jejunum depending heavily on the physical state of the iron atom to be absorbed. Gastric acid production plays a key role in plasma iron homeostasis; a low pH of gastric acid in the proximal duodenum allows the enzymes on the brush border of the enterocytes to convert insoluble ferric (Fe3+) to absorbable ferrous (Fe2+) ions. The enterocytes are cells that line the intestinal walls and form the brush border (a chemical barrier through which food must pass to be absorbed). These cells produce the specialised enzymes for the absorption and utilisation of iron; a process carefully balanced, and any changes in pH usually due to inflammation, or protected by certain dietary compounds, will influence the outcome of this highly sophisticated chemical system.
Nano Mineral Iron:
The miracle solution with 100% absorption and absolutely no side effects.
Under the above conditions, Nano Iron mineral solution comes into its own to alleviate and avoid such situations. Nano Iron mineral solution has the smallest possible particles between 0.5 and 7 nm, in the purest elemental form, which is dissolved in purified water. Nano Iron completely bypasses the gut and is absorbed as whole nanoparticles directly into the cells, unlike many conventional iron supplements; and does not require solubilisation in the stomach prior to its uptake, as well as being one hundred percent bioavailable.
Most mineral supplements, including tablets, capsules, powders, and liquids on the market contain fillers, residues, additives, excipients, adulterants, and some even have unapproved addition of active pharmaceutical compounds; metal compounds are attached to organic or inorganic substances or proteins and glucose for stabilization (such as gluconates, methionines, taurates, citrates, malate, chelates and diglycinate). These compounds need to be firstly broken down to a size where they can enter the cells (primary sites of absorption are the digestive tract, small intestine, duodenum, and proximal jejunum). The main compounds used in good quality iron supplements are Ferrous Gluconate which is absorbed through the entire length of the GI tract; but primary absorption sites are the duodenum and proximal jejunum. Iron bisglycinate Ferrochel® (ferrous bisglycinate) is a patented chelated form of non-heme iron that passes through the stomach and small intestine without breaking apart. It has been shown to be more effectively absorbed than other types of iron chelate in healthy people with different iron levels (in a healthy individual the absorption is still less than 30%.)
Studies have shown overall absorption of Iron supplements in healthy individuals is as low as 37%. Often high doses are required to create any effect, and this can place a heavy burden on the bowel, liver, stomach, and kidneys. Furthermore, most patients have serious absorption problems and high inflammation levels, including Long COVID or Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19, and over 33% of our elderly in the UK have Malabsorption Syndrome. Nano Iron mineral solution is unique and bypass all the above due to their small particle size and high Zeta Potential*, once passed through the Bloodbrain barrier (BBB) the Nano Minerals are immediately absorbed into two very important sites for health: the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) which is the clear fluid that surrounds the brain, and the spinal cord and Central Nervous System (brain and spinal cord). Nano Iron minerals are absorbed via the oral mucosa (which is the mucous membrane lining or “skin’ and soft tissue, inside of the mouth) and therefore this pure elemental, highly energetic, odourless, and colourless structured water liquid has an exceedingly high bioavailability.
The power and potency are in the size and that is why size does matter!
Nano Minerals commonly behave differently as a function of their size within the nanoscale size range. The smaller a particle becomes, the more concentrated the energy field becomes. The making of advanced Nano Mineral solutions uses a sophisticated production system that firstly ensures perfectly spherical mineral particles, negatively charged to optimize zeta potential (using a medium of triple distilled water), pure state metal (99.998%), and requires other precisely controlled factors, working both individually and in partnership, such as current, voltage and light.
To preserve the revitalisation, stability, and longer shelf life of the unique nano minerals, they must be stored in dark violet, biophotonic glass bottles (Miron™ Glass) which only allows, ultra-violet, violet and infra-red rays to pass through. Colloids and Nano Minerals are often considered analogous, however this is a misnomer or loose term, as colloids in general are not by any means the smallest possible particles but are in fact smaller than 98% of all mineral supplements on the market. A medical study in 2013 using ‘Iron Nano Particles (FeNP) with a spherical shape and average size of 40 nm, revealed a remarkable antianemic activity, in a dose ten times lower than the generally accepted therapeutic dose and an even greater outcome of the FeNP study, was the high biological safety and low toxicity in vitro, favourable effects on the gastrointestinal track and the complete absence of side effects such as constipation and intestinal dysbacteriosis. The authors concluded this is the future to a new class of antianemic preparations and the worldwide implications are life changing for individuals and many Nations’.
Following from the FeNP study above, nano minerals are a gateway to maximise human potential, especially when being compared to compound supplements, and it is at this point that the comparison ends.
Furthermore, all the complexities of nano mineral particle size, their composition, and their structure, definitively enhance stability (and therefore absorption), bioavailability and reactivity in the human body which affect the development, protection and preservation of the brain, bones, arteries, veins, heart, muscle etc.
Addressing these deficiencies has the potential to improve or resolve many health issues. Nano Iron can offer a unique solution with the ‘Oligodynamic’ nature conferring an immediate targeted effect in low concentrations.
For support and information or consultation please contact Dr Zouë Lloyd-Wright at zoue@noblenaturals.co.uk or Calendly for an appointment Dr. Zoue Lloyd-Wright calendly.com/drzoue
Glossary
Bioavailable: The ability of a drug or other substance to be absorbed and used by the body. Orally bioavailable means that a drug or other substance that is taken by mouth can be absorbed and used by the body.
Elemental: Existing as an uncombined chemical element, in its purest form being the basic or essential constituent of something.
Oligodynamic: The oligodynamic effect or Oligodynamic Power (from Greek oligos, “few”, and dynamis, “force”) is a biocidal effect of metals, especially heavy metals, that occurs even in low concentrations.
* Zeta-potential: Zeta potential closely relates to the energetic value. It is the electrical charge that naturally arises at the interface of an insoluble particle (e.g. silver particle) and its environment (e.g. water), due the different existing charge of the elements, wanting to create a balance together. Zeta potential indicates the quality, strength and stability of the product and is highly influenced by the production methods.
** One nanometre: is 10-9 or one-billionth of a meter. It’s difficult to imagine just how small that is, so here are some examples: A sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometres thick