meat tagged posts

Eating Meat Linked to Higher Risk of Diabetes

Meat, Dietary Heme Iron, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2017; 1 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwx156

Meat, Dietary Heme Iron, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. American Journal of Epidemiology, 2017; 1 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwx156

While a plant-based diet is generally considered healthier than a meat-based diet in preventing the risk of diabetes, not all meats affect the risk equally. As Professor Koh Woon Puay, Professor of Clinical Sciences at Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS), and her team found out, higher intake of red meat and poultry is associated with significantly increased risk of developing diabetes, which is partially attributed to their higher content of heme iron in these meats. This study provides the basis for evidence-based dietary recommendations to the Singapore population in mitigating diabetes risk and reducing the healthcare burden of this chronic condition.

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Iron Supplementation: When Less is really More

Legumes such as beans, soy or lentils are good sources of iron. (Image: www.colourbox.com)

Legumes such as beans, soy or lentils are good sources of iron. (Image: www.colourbox.com)

Therapeutic iron supplements may be less effective when given in brief intervals: A peptide molecule blocks iron absorption in the intestine even 24 hours after the iron administation. Anemia is often the result of an iron deficiency. In such cases the patients, who are typically female, will be prescribed iron supplements to be taken daily.

As soon as iron enters the body, hepcidin production begins in the liver. This tiny protein, which is composed of just 25 amino acid building blocks, then is released into the bloodstream and reaches the intestine, where one of its functions is to regulate the amount of iron absorbed into the body through the cells of the gastrointestinal tract...

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