Robots? Count me in!
Unless you can see in near infared… in which case hot metal looks “fuzzy”.
This web page says:
So it seems like the “carcinogen” claim has some basis in reality, if we believe the above cite.
Thankfully, being human, I feel pretty safe.
[Chevy Chase]
This report just in: Cancer is caused by white mice.
[/Chevy Chase]
Yes, too much iron can be hazardous to ones health. Especially for men. wiki:
"Excessive iron can be toxic, because free ferrous iron reacts with peroxides to produce free radicals, which are highly reactive and can damage DNA, proteins, lipids, and other cellular components. Thus, iron toxicity occurs when there is free iron in the cell, which generally occurs when iron levels exceed the capacity of transferrin to bind the iron.
Iron uptake is tightly regulated by the human body, which has no physiological means of excreting iron, so controls iron levels solely by regulating uptake. Although uptake is regulated, large amounts of ingested iron can cause excessive levels of iron in the blood, because high iron levels can cause damage to the cells of the gastrointestinal tract that prevents them from regulating iron absorption. High blood concentrations of iron damage cells in the heart, liver and elsewhere, which can cause serious problems, including long-term organ damage and even death.
Humans experience iron toxicity above 20 milligrams of iron for every kilogram of mass, and 60 milligrams per kilogram is a lethal dose.[15] Over-consumption of iron, often the result of children eating large quantities of ferrous sulfate tablets intended for adult consumption, is one of the most common toxicological cause of death in children under six.[15] The DRI lists the Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for adults as 45 mg/day. For children under fourteen years old the UL is 40 mg/day.
Regulation of iron uptake is impaired in some people as a result of a genetic defect that maps to the HLA-H gene region on chromosome 6. In these people, excessive iron intake can result in iron overload disorders, such as hemochromatosis. Many people have a genetic susceptibility to iron overload without realizing it or being aware of a family history of the problem. For this reason, it is advised that people should not take iron supplements unless they suffer from iron deficiency and have consulted a doctor. Hemochromatosis is estimated to cause disease in between 0.3 and 0.8% of Caucasians. [16]
The medical management of iron toxicity is complex, and can include use of a specific chelating agent called deferoxamine to bind and expel excess iron from the body."
Generally,most women need more iron, but many males can get by fine with less. I suggest us male Dopers make their Vitamin choice one without Iron.
Otherwise a fine post.
I was going to ask about the articles that were going around the news sites a few years back saying that high iron was linked to heart attacks, and that pre-menopausal women were okay because they got rid of iron by menstruating, but that men and post-menopausal women should donate blood as often as possible to decrease their heart attack risk.
Were those articles just scaremongering, or is the “iron = heart attacks = donate blood to avoid” thing regarded as accurate?
My understanding is that it can be a slight danger in men, unless they have a rare medical condition which causes the body to have too much iron in the blood. The treatment for this is frequent blood donations.
Wouldn’t it just look ‘glowy’?
Free the Radicals!!
And, speaking of folklore, that old thing about being mad enough to chew nails and spit sparks is just a figure of speech. Anger won’t influence your mineral intake.
The article DrDeth cites addresses iron supplements, but doesn’t mention cookware, so I’m curious if there are any figures out there for just how much iron a cast iron pan adds to food; sure, it’s always mentioned as a great way to add iron to your diet, but I’ve never seen any actual numbers. I wonder if it really would ever be an issue, even for people who need to watch their iron intake.
Actually, I just answered my own question with the right Google terms-- http://whatscookingamerica.net/Information/IronCastIron.htm A pretty significant increase in iron content for some of those foods, so it could make a big difference for somebody with iron uptake problems.
FWIW:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/kitchentips/castironcookery.html
Plants Poisonous to Livestock - Cornell University Department of Animal Science
http://www.holidaycook.com/cast-iron/health-benefits.shtml
But:
http://www.emsresponder.com/features/article.jsp?id=3688&siteSection=16
and see Take care if using iron skillet for baby food (pdf):
Right. It is another good reason to give blood. Also dudes? If you are otherwise healthy but can not give blood, when you get a small cut- let it bleed a bit under clean running water, before you slather on polysporin and a bandage.
I’m just relaying how it was described. Might be that everything is “glowy” with internal heat (including cold things) but hot things are fuzzier. If everything has an IR halo, you wouldn’t know to describe it as anything special or different between hot and cold. Or it could have something to do with the scattering of IR light. Or it could just be a quirk of how it was processed in the visual cortex.
Skillets don’t kill people. Angry housewives kill people.
And the excessive-iron-uptake condition mentioned above is called hemochromatosis, and it’s actually one of the most common heriditary disorders in the US, at about 1 case per 200 people (coincidentally, I just learned yesterday that I’m one of those cases). Decide for yourself whether that counts as “rare”.
OK, I’m curious – described by who? Somebody who can see near-IR with their eyes? Or somebody wearing night vision goggles or something?
They’re probably seeing the shimmering air above it.