MAG-pie and MAG-net ALERT!…
Iron Toxicity Post #50: The Iron-ic “D”eceit of Hormone-D
“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”
— Attributed to George Orwell (although this phrase does NOT appear anywhere in his famous book, “1984!”)
Well, it’s been a FULL year of Posts on Iron. I would NEVER have imagined that I would become so enamored with this “arresting” topic to such an obsessive extent… 😉
Today’s Post will be, I hope, most memorable, as it synthesizes my many posts and articles on Hormone-D and FULLY integrates it with the issue of Iron Toxicity. Telescoping to the forthcoming punch line:
“Liver Iron overload may indeed affect Vitamin-D metabolism…” (Ezzat, 2015).
For those that are a bit squeamish, this would be a good time to take an extra tug on your seat-belt!…
OK, here goes…
In my sincere opinion, being labeled “Vitamin D deficient” is analytical laziness and clinical irresponsibility — despite the “D”aily “D”ictums of “Organized Medicine” to the contrary. That’s a bold statement, but it’s one based on extensive research, that much I can assure you…
• The MORE important question is: WHY is this person LOW in Storage-D (aka, 25(OH)D)?
• Compelling studies (Rude, 1985, Zittermann, 2013, and Deng, 2013) point the way… It’s a sign of Magnesium deficiency, right?… It’s what is laid out and implied in Figure 1 below from the Deng 2013 research. (Note ALL the Red Circles with Mg!)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3840173 (Rude, 1985)
http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/…/10.…/1741-7015-11-229 (Zittermann, 2013)
http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/…/10.…/1741-7015-11-187 (Deng, 2013)
• But the MOST important question of all: WHY is the Magnesium LOW in the Liver, in the 1st place?!?
I had completely OVERLOOKED this truth for the longest time… until this week.
And it turns out that what I, and MOST who “D”ance on this topic, had successfully bypassed is, the fundamental fact that Cholecalciferol (pro-Vitamin D3) is transformed — IN THE LIVER – by a KEY enzyme Hepatic 25-Hydroxylase that we KNOW is Mg-dependent. It is then subsequently transformed in the Kidney by another KEY enzyme, Renal 1a-Hydoxylase, that is ALSO Magnesium dependent. We know all that. But what hit me like a ton of bricks was the realization that there is a REASON WHY the Liver doesn’t work right, and WHY it doesn’t allow proper function of that 1st KEY enzyme to work…
Anyone want to venture a guess as to why?!?… Hmmmmmmmmm…
Yes, indeedy do, it’s none other than our “rusty” friend — excess, unbound Iron being the proverbial “wrench in the works” – yet AGAIN! As Chow, et al (1985) clearly state in their stunner of an article, “Under normal conditions, plasma 25(OH)D is formed in the Liver from Vitamin-D [Cholecalciferol] absorbed from the diet or synthesized in the skin under the influence of ultraviolet light [8].” http://www.sciencedirect.com/…/article/pii/S0016508585800019 (I’ve yet to find this full article that I can share…)
Emphasis on the word: “NORMAL…” They go on to point out that “this suggests that Iron may have had a direct effect on serum 25(OH)D levels.” What is particularly poignant is the 2nd Figure that is from Chow et al, also at the bottom of this Post. Please note the inverse correlation: as the Iron level RISES, the level of Storage-D [25(OH)D] DROPS…
And for those that think that this was a one-and-done study by Chow, et al, I happened upon an even more recent study by Ezzat, et al, 2015: (noted previously at the start of this Post…)
http://rossscience.org/ojhmt/articles/2075-907X-6-6.pdf
Now we have to discount this study as it’s NOT from the USofA (;-) ) and hails from our brethren FAAAAAR to the North, but it, TOO, is a stunner, largely because it draws the SAME conclusion re Iron’s impact on Storage-D levels and has a notable set of Figures, as well. The most notable is the noted inverse relationship between a KEY Liver enzyme, AST (sensitive to Iron status), and level of Storage-D as noted in the 3rd Figure.
Once again, the conclusion is inescapable, it’s Iron getting in the way of the critical conversion of Cholecalciferol in the Liver.
And then it “D”awned on me…
I knew WHY there Is and has been such a RUSH to pump us up with synthetic Hormone-D, that SHOULD have been naturally occurring in our Liver, but couldn’t!… It wasn’t just that we LACKED the Magnesium, it’s ALSO that there’s a recognized realization – somewhere within the System — that we simply have TOO MUCH Iron in our Livers to allow this essential metabolic conversion to take place.
And then the research by Mangin, et al, 2014 takes on an even GREATER importance:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4160567/
The connection between excess, unbound Iron and the state of Inflammation is absurdly high. The relationship between elevated Ferritin, and Inflammation is well documented, and so too is the connection between LOW Magnesium and initiation of the entire Inflammatory Cascade, which I have repeatedly shared via the pioneering & penetrating research of Weglicki & Phillips of GWU Medial Center, 1992a, b, c & d.
So suddenly, we have a NEW model to work with:
LOW Storage-D Levels are a BILLBOARD for BOTH: TOO MUCH Iron and TOO LITTLE Magnesium – IN THE LIVER, NO LESS — that together CAUSE Inflammation.
Wow, that’s a stunner. And gives GREATER credence to the increasingly recognized condition of “Anemia of Chronic Inflammation.”
And lest any of you are NOT connecting the obvious “D”ots… What this research about Iron <> Hormone-D is seeking to tell us is that:
LOW Storage Vitamin-D is BOTH a sign for LOW Magnesium, AND EXCESS, Unbound Iron. In and of itself, LOW Storage-D is NOT a metabolic state to correct. It is SIGNALLING the VERY minerals that need to be corrected!!!
Nothing more, and nothing less… Intriguing, eh?…
Now, to bring this treatise to a noteworthy close, it is well known that James A. Holick, PhD, MD is the clinician that discovered that Calcifediol (Storage-D) is the predominate form of Hormone-D in the body, that Calcitriol (Active-D) is the active form of Hormone-D, AND he’s ALSO the one that discovered that Hepatic 25-Hydroxylase is the VERY enzyme (noted earlier…) that converts Cholecalciferol >> Calcifediol in the Liver… He is THE MAN when it comes to KNOWING ALL there is to know about Hormone-D. http://www.bumc.bu.edu/endo/faculty/holick/
But what I find FASCINATING is that NOT ONE reference can be found with his name and either of these KEY minerals of Magnesium, OR Iron… Call me an ODD DUCK, but I’m deeply troubled by that scientific gap in his research, esp. when SOOOOOO MANY are being “D”rowned – worldwide — by this synthetic, toxic form of Hormone-D, also known as “19-nor” in the research literature… 9I’ve NO idea what that “19-nor” is referring to, but I fully intend to find out… )
So, there you have it. We’ve compiled quite the year’s worth of new information by putting the spotlight on the dynamics of Copper<>Iron dysregulation and the related impact these two minerals then have on our Magnesium status, in particular, as well as our physiology, overall. I plan to do an OVERVIEW Post on Hormone-D in the New Year, that I’m confident MANY will find both illuminating and reassuring – at least to those that have “D”ropped that “D”aily “D”iscipline from their lives…
Have a Blessed New Year’s Celebration later this week, and let’s look forward to new mineral insights and understandings in 2017!
A votre sante!
Morley M. Robbins
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MagnesiumAdvocacy/permalink/1217780874956646/
