Alcohol and iron: one glass of red or more?

The consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol affects human iron homeostasis and an association of iron overload and heavy alcohol consumption has been recognized for many years. Both major proteins of iron metabolism, ferritin and transferrin, are affected by alcohol. Increased hepatic iron levels are seen in a high proportion of alcoholic subjects, sometimes causing confusion in diagnosis between alcoholic liver disease and iron-overload disease. The pattern of deposition of this iron in alcoholics, however, differs from that seen in the iron-overload disease haemochromatosis. Excessive alcohol consumption causes transferrin to become carbohydrate deficient, which allows it to be used as an efficient biochemical marker of alcohol abuse. It is concluded that alcohol consumption in moderation is unlikely to have deleterious health consequences.