Recipes for son with Hemochromatosis.

bobpat, Oct 14, 6:36pm
We are seeking recipes for my son who has been diagonosed with Hemochromatosis - which is a common form of iron overload disease.
The diet appears to be very restricting, so would appreciate ideas. Many thanks.

maximus44, Oct 14, 7:00pm
I just googled it as I had never heard of the condition. Hopefully someone on here will be able to give you some information regarding diet. Good luck. Sorry I can't be of more help.

lillol, Oct 14, 7:16pm
Heaps of my family members have this blood disorder but none of them have to eat special food? Can you please explain because I'm really interested so I can tell my Mum and Aunty and all the others who have this. Thanks.

bobpat, Oct 14, 7:21pm
Hi Lillol, just found out about this disorder, so still very green on this subject.There is alot of info on the internet that we are looking through at the moment.
Regards

lillol, Oct 14, 7:34pm
I guess if he has a really bad case just avoid things with iron like silverbeet, maybe some meats etc. Does he have to have blood taken. My family members don't so perhaps their case isn't too bad yet.

bobpat, Oct 14, 7:52pm
From what I know so far is that he has to avoideatingmeats, and greens that have a high content of iron. What makes this more difficult is that he has to ensure that he avoids sugar products and cheeses.As he is in his early forties, and does not live with me, I still want to be able to offer him some support.The information that he will give me willno doubt be complete, knowing how these sons try to protect their mums from additional worry and stress.

horizons_, Oct 14, 7:54pm
Ask your Doc or ph the hospital dieticians and take their advice. Blood donors might also be able to advise if diet needs to be adjusted.

glynsmum, Oct 14, 8:03pm
My husband also has this! avoids silverbeet but eats cheese like it's the last block on the shelf what has to be avoided in cheese?

cfa, Oct 15, 6:22pm
x1
Donating blood is an easy thing (a good bleeding provides great relief) to assist with this disorder, the other thing to take into consideration is food combinations (eg orange juice increases iron absorption when taken before a meal). In my opinion he just needs to watch what he eats when, less red meat, ensuring he doesn't have huge iron absorption loads. Silver beet has little available iron content when digested, so doesn't need to be avoided. There is a lot of information out these days about this (people esp men of this disorder were the ones taken by the plaque due to their high iron content - interesting) Calcium also inhibits the iron absorption within the body. Check out this website http://www.hemochromatosis.org/DietFactSheet.pdf - good luck

greerg, Oct 15, 8:38pm
My nephew also has this and manages it by giving blood once a month.He is O negative so the blood service love him and he needs no dietary changes.

whiteheron1, Oct 15, 9:07pm
I have the same thing, had to diet only till my ferritin level was down to normal, gave blood every week for about 3 months, then went back to eating whatever i liked, just have to give blood about every 6 weeks now.Things to avoid are seafood, red meats and offal, Thyme is really high in iron and curry powders, etc

glynsmum, Oct 15, 9:23pm
Re the blood taking they cant ethically give it to anyone my husband now goes every three months for what he calls bloodletting his is pretty bad as he got both genes from each parent he suffers with arthritus what he was told was like iron filings had got to his jointsbut has it pretty much controlled with Glaucosimine Selinium and Calcium hope this helps

cfa, Oct 15, 9:40pm
glynsmum - green tea can help with the arthritic inflammation in the joints (2 cups a day is benefical, can be added to food to disguise if you don't have a taste for it). Depending on the iron load in the blood, often the blood is discarded due to being unsuitable, but often it is very usable.

firob, Oct 16, 9:48am
Hi bobpat, just need to have a healthy diet, no excess red meat & limit alcohol intake.If your son diagnosed early that is great as only needs venesections to help the condition. unfortunately I was diagnosed late when the iron settled on the heart muscle & caused heart failure, 20yrs ago at the age of your son. Best wishes to yr son.

lythande1, Oct 16, 6:32pm
LOL, silverbeet. It's a myth. Do you know how may shipping containerloads of the stuff you'd have to eat to get iron in any meaningful does out of it??!!
Treatment involves the removal of 500 milliliters (about 15 ounces) of blood weekly until normal plasma iron levels are established. After that, blood is removed every 3 or 4 months to maintain normal iron levels.

Occasionally, anemia results from removal of the blood. When this occurs, the chelating agent deferoxamine is given to prevent anemia. Patients should adhere to a low-iron diet, avoiding foods such as liver, red meats, or iron-enriched breads and cereals.

lillol, Oct 16, 9:20pm
Oh that's good about silverbeet because I hate it and don't give it to my kids which I always felt guilty about!

glynsmum, Jun 4, 5:08pm
cfa just found the link again thanks for advice we will try the green tea actually I have a very nice one Japanese lime