Iron Toxicity and How to Measure It with Morley Robbins
Morley Robbins is the author of Cu:re Your Fatigue, Creator of the Root Cause Protocol and Institute as well as founder of the Magnesium Advocacy Group.
In this interview, Morley details how to measure you own iron levels, correcting iron toxicity with copper and vitamin a, and identifying metabolic dysfunction with uric acid.
Here are the highlights:
Blood Ferritin represents only 10% of total iron stores yet most practitioners use it as the standard of iron status
70% of iron is stored in hemoglobin and is what blood banks test when you donate to determine if you’re eligible
The serum iron blood test, only about 1% of total iron stores, shows how well the iron recycling system (governed by copper-containing Ceruloplasmin) is working
Decreased serum iron means you’re most likely low in Ceruloplasmin (Cp). Increased serum iron correlated to mitochondrial inefficiency
95% of people are lower than ideal serum iron than above
Uric acid in blood acts as antioxidant, uric acid in cell acts are pro-oxidant
High uric acid indicates a mitochondrial inefficiency which can lead to insulin resistance and low uric acid can lead to neurodegeneration. Ideal is between 4-5
Transferrin and Ceruloplasmin are crucial for keeping iron away from pathogens
Transferrin is stimulated by retinol (animal-based vitamin a) and copper stimulates Ceruloplasmin
Low Cp means lack of copper and retinol. High Cp is a sign of inflammation or infection
An iron saturation of 20% means lower chance getting cancer, 60% greater chance of getting cancer
If TIBC (transferrin) is high and Cp is high, Morley suspects parasites
If plasma zinc is low, liver iron is too high
Contrary to popular opinion, Morley likes to see parity between copper and zinc
High iron depresses red blood cell (RBC) magnesium, difficult to increase magnesium with high iron status
RBC mag is stored magnesium. Shows emotional and oxidative stress and high iron.
Every mineral follows the goldilocks principle, not to high or low.
Article on Ceruloplasmin referenced by Morley in interview
For more about Morley go to https://therootcauseprotocol.com/
Morley will be giving 2 lectures at our upcoming Remineralize & Heal Your Gut Summit. Get more info here.