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Kristy Henderson: Iron and Autoimmunity – The Connection We Are Missing?

Kristy Henderson/LinkedIn

Sep 12, 2026, 09:37

Kristy Henderson: Iron and Autoimmunity – The Connection We Are Missing?

Kristy Henderson, Account Executive, Product Expert at Phoenix Creative Nutraceuticals, Glucoferrin Company, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“We’ve been taught to think about autoimmune disease as one simple story:

‘The immune system attacks the body.’

But that leaves out a huge part of the biology.

The immune system doesn’t exist in isolation.

It is made up of metabolically active cells that depend on tightly regulated iron, amino acids, proteins, energy production and redox balance.

And here’s what caught my attention:

Iron doesn’t only affect red blood cells.

Research shows that iron stress can affect neutrophil function, leukocyte survival, bone-marrow progenitor cells, T-cell function and B-cell biology.

Even more interesting?

Iron can interfere with AID, an enzyme B cells need for antibody class switching and maturation.

And iron-dependent ferroptosis is now being investigated in immune cells and autoimmune disease, including lupus.

So perhaps the question shouldn’t only be:

‘Why is the immune system attacking itself?’

Maybe we should also be asking:

‘What is happening inside the environment in which the immune system is trying to function?’

Because immune function is metabolic function.

Iron homeostasis matters.

Oxidative stress matters.

Glutathione matters.

Amino-acid biology matters.

And immune tolerance matters.

I’m not saying iron overload explains every autoimmune disease.

I’m saying the evidence is strong enough that iron metabolism deserves a much bigger seat at the table.