Alzheimer’s: How Donating Blood Reduces Your Risk

          While iron is extremely important to our bodies, too much iron can be a bad thing.  We’ve all heard that antioxidants are good for your body.  Well this is because they “fight” oxidizing agents, which are harmful to your health.  Well, in certain instances, iron is an oxidizing agent.  Since our bodies are efficient at storing iron, various iron reserves tend to accumulate throughout one’s life.  Studies have in fact linked disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease with high levels of iron in the brain.  So what can you do?  Well because so much iron is contained in the red blood cells of your body, it’s a good idea to donate blood every once in a while.  When your body is forced to regenerate these blood cells, it calls upon its iron reserves to do so.  This in turn reduces your body’s iron, including that which is stored in your brain.  This health tip is even more important for guys, as high iron tends to be more common in males (most likely due to the female menstrual cycle).  For a list of places to donate blood, simply use your Google skills.  The American Red Cross and other organizations are always happy to accept your blood donation, and it’s completely free!  Aside from reducing your iron reserves, you can also manage your iron intake by eating less meat, as this is where much of our body iron comes from.  To understand why oxidizing agents are bad and why antioxidants are good, and for a list of foods which are high in antioxidants, stayed tuned for my next blog!

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                                                                                                -Shahir Masri