hemochromatosis

Hemochromatosis is a genetic disease in which there is too much iron that builds up in your body, this is referred to as an iron overload. Iron is an essential nutrient found in many foods but can be toxic to our bodies if we have to much. “Normally, humans absorb about 8-10% of the iron found in foods that they eat.” People with Hemochromatosis can absorb up to four times more iron than a normal human being. Since our bodies have no natural way to get rid of the extra iron, it gets stored in your body tissue including the liver, heart, pancreas and many other areas of our body can also be infected by this iron overload.
Hemochromatosis is hereditary and the most common genetic disease in the U.S. This genetic disease is passed on from your mother and father. Each parent carries a gene of hemochromatosis and only one parent is supposed to give you this gene so you can contain iron, but when both parents give you the hemochromatosis gene that is when you get the diseases and have an iron overload. A person who has only one hemochromatosis gene is healthy and said to be a carrier of the gene. A carrier has an increased chance to have a child with hemochromatosis. This type of inheritance is called autosomal recessive. “Autosomal means that the gene is on one of the first 22 pairs of chromosomes, and not on the X or Y chromosome.” Therefore, males and females are equally affected by the disease. “Recessive means that two copies of the gene, one inherited from each parent, are necessary to have the condition.” Once parents have had a child with hemochromatosis, there is a “one in four, or 25 percent, chance with each future pregnancy for another child to be born with hemochromatosis”. This means that there is a “three out of four, or 75 percent, chance for another child to not have hemochromatosis.” Although hemochromatosis is an autosomal recessive disorder, which usually means men and women are equally affected, “iron overload from hereditary hemochromatosis is