Why You Should Donate Blood to Reduce Blood Viscosity, Iron Overload and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk

Thick, viscous blood is linked with heart disease development and blood clots. Learn how to assess your blood viscosity and ways to reduce it.

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Blood work cheat sheet: https://bit.ly/3dyy4zM

Link to research and show notes: https://bit.ly/blood-viscosity-tips

Time Stamps: 

00:05 Therapeutic phlebotomy may benefit high ferritin and hemoglobin in men and in post-menopausal women.
00:30 Donating blood once or twice a year brings down stored iron.
00:35 Iron overload and iron excess can drive the process of cardiovascular disease. 
01:35 Iron depletion by phlebotomy improves insulin resistance in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
01:45 Insulin and hyperinsulinemia cause changes in iron metabolism, iron absorption and iron physiology, and ferritin metabolism.
02:41 Excess iron gets stored in your liver, pancreas, and heart, and can impact your brain. 
03:35 More than diet influences iron levels. 
06:00 You need iron to transport oxygen in your hemoglobin. 
07:18 Iron and ferritin are acute phase reactants. 
08:45 COVID 19, even the omicron variant, may increase blood viscosity/thickness. 
09:35 Free iron accelerates the process of the oxidation of LDL. 
11:15 Ferritin stores iron. It is amino acids that hold molecules of iron.
12:50 Exercise helps with iron metabolism and your cardiovascular system. 
14:15 High ferritin and high hemoglobin and hematocrit mean that there is a lot of free iron floating around. 
17:50 Phlebotomy therapy for study participants with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease showed improvements in ferritin, hemoglobin, liver enzymes and markers of insulin sensitivity. 
21:40 High frequency blood donation is protective against cardiovascular disease and reduced relative risk of having a heart attack.