Why I Left the Root Cause Protocol and Thoughts on Iron Deficiency

I have been hearing about iron overload since 2012 from various natural health educators. In 2019 the seeds that were sprouted in my mind fully developed as I completely embraced the idea that everybody has iron overload and nobody is iron deficient. I went full steam ahead with that idea for the next several years, making it a core part of my health message. I practiced what I preached and donated blood twice. The first time I felt superhuman - very mentally clear and energetic. The second time I donated blood it gave me extreme fatigue, brain fog, and muscular weakness that took me a long time to recover from. This show is not meant to disparage or restart a fight, but to make it crystal clear to those that don't follow me on social media my stance on iron. Many women and even some men (former vegans/vegetarians) are suffering from the symptoms of iron deficiency such as hair loss and fatigue. Most people are unaware that ascorbic acid suppresses hepcidin at 1000mg dose which increases non-heme iron absorption. That is important to know if you are trying to build your savings account (serum ferritin) with supplementing iron bisglycinate. I also talk about how L-lysine amino acid is underrated for restoring your iron status, the role of vitamin E, and how the widespread heavy metal toxicity makes iron deficiency worse. I talk about why serum ferritin is in fact an accurate representation of tissue iron stores according to top iron researchers, why zinc is crucial for proper iron metabolism, how you can tell if you are deficient in iron without any bloodwork, the best iron supplements i've found, the permanent brain damage to the baby that occurs if a pregnant women is iron deficient, and I ask why the Root Cause Protocol people never talk about iron deficiency without anemia and the three different stages. My website: www.matt-blackburn.com Mitolife products: www.mitolife.co Music by George Henner: https://georgehenner.bandcamp.com