David Goldfarb <goldfarb@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Keith F. Lynch <kfl@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> For another, reducing my iron level -- which platelet donation
>> won't do -- is part of my reason for donating, since the lower
>> one's iron level, the less the risk of heart attacks.
> I find it a bit hard to believe that this can make any significant
> difference, either to your level or to your associated risk.
On the contrary, that's why they limit whole blood donations to once
every eight weeks, and encourage donors to eat lots of iron-rich foods
(which I don't -- I deliberately avoid iron-enriched cereals). As
it is, I've been deferred for too low an iron level twice out of the
hundred-odd times I've gone to donate,
It's generally believed that the reason why women have a lower heart
attack risk than men of the same age, and why this difference goes
away after menopause, is because of their monthly iron loss, which
is of the same order as blood loss from regular blood donations.
Of course that's not all I do to reduce the risk of heart disease
(which is still the leading killer of Americans). I eat right, get
plenty of exercise, and of course have never smoked. It seems to
be working. At my last donation, two weeks ago, my blood pressure
was 110/70. At my last health fair, three months ago, my total
cholesterol was 104, and my blood sugar was 66. (These are of
course in the usual US units.)
--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html
before emailing me.
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