How to lower high ferritin

Ferritin is an important protein in the body that plays the role of storing iron. The content of stored iron plays a very important role in our health. It will decrease during pregnancy due to acute anemia. The phenomenon of increased iron is closely related to acute and chronic liver damage and liver cancer, especially the latter, the probability of being positive is as high as 90%. So, how to lower high ferritin? Let’s take a look below.

Ferritin is a soluble tissue protein that stores iron in the body. Normal human serum contains a small amount of ferritin, but different detection methods have different normal values. The normal average is about 80-130ug/L (80-130ng/ml) for men and about 35-55ug/L (35-55ng/ml) for women. Serum iron levels decrease during pregnancy and acute anemia, and increase in acute and chronic liver damage and liver cancer. Domestic reports show that the positive rate in liver cancer patients is as high as 90%.

Characteristics of Ferritin

Ferritin has special properties such as resistance to dilute acid (pH 2.0), resistance to dilute alkali (pH 12.0), and resistance to high temperatures (no change at water temperatures of 70-75°C). In many studies, these properties of ferritin 1 are used to purify the protein from animal tissues.

Way of existence

A class of iron storage proteins widely found in animals and plants. It is found most abundantly in the liver and spleen of mammals. Its outer diameter is about 12 to 14 nm, the diameter of the cyst cavity is about 6 nm, and the outer shell (i.e., apoferritin) is composed of 24 subunits, each subunit contains approximately 163 amino acid residues, and each molecule can bind up to 4,500 iron atoms. The molecular weight is about 450kd. Iron-bound ferritin is "soluble" in water, and the concentration of plasma ferritin is proportional to the iron stored in the body. (This is correct)

In recent years, it has been discovered that liver cancer also contains an acidic isoferrin, called carcinoembryonic isoferrin, which may be helpful for early diagnosis. The serum ferritin level in liver cancer patients who are effectively treated decreases, while it increases in patients with deterioration and relapse. A continued increase indicates a poor prognosis. Therefore, serum ferritin measurement can be used as a means of monitoring therapeutic efficacy, especially for patients with negative AFP.

In recent years, it has been discovered that liver cancer also contains an acidic isoferrin, called carcinoembryonic isoferrin, which may be helpful for early diagnosis. The serum ferritin level in liver cancer patients who are effectively treated decreases, while it increases in patients with deterioration and relapse. A continued increase indicates a poor prognosis. Therefore, serum ferritin measurement can be used as a means of monitoring therapeutic efficacy, especially for patients with negative AFP.

It is recommended to eat some foods that can inhibit the absorption of iron, such as raw vegetable juice, strong tea, coffee, calcium salt, dairy products, etc., and eat less foods high in iron, such as animal blood, lean pork, egg yolk, sesame, mustard, celery, seaweed, fungus, kelp, spinach, etc. Among fruits, peaches, bananas, and walnuts also contain relatively high iron content.