2024-08-13 12:45:15
A new study by researchers at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health links the higher potency of heme iron, found in red meat and other animal products, compared to non-heme iron found in the diet of plant source, with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes Although this link has already been reported in previous research, the new findings cause and explain the relationship further. The results are published in the journal ‘Nature Biology’.
“Compared to previous studies based only on epidemiological data, we integrated multiple layers of information, including traditional metabolic biomarkers and cutting-edge metabolomics. This allows us to achieve a more complete understanding of the relationship between Iron intake and risk of type 2 diabetesas well as possible metabolic pathways underlying this group,” explained lead author Fenglei Wang, an associate researcher in the Department of Nutrition.
Researchers evaluated the relationship between iron and type 2 diabetes in use 36 years of dietary reports from 206,615 adults enroll in Nurses Health Studies I and II and Health Professionals Secondary Education. They assessed the participants’ intake of different forms of iron (total, heme, nonheme, dietary (from foods), and complementary (from supplements)) and their type 2 diabetes status, controlling for other health and lifestyle factors.
The researchers also looked at the biological mechanisms underlying heme iron’s relationship with type 2 diabetes in small groups of participants. They looked at metabolic biomarkers in the plasma of 37,544 participants, including those related to insulin levels, blood sugar, blood lipids, inflammation, and two markers of iron metabolism. They analyzed the metabolomic profiles of 9,024 participants.
The study found a significant association between high heme iron intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes are 26% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those in the lowest consumption group. In addition, the researchers found that heme iron accounted for more than half the risk of type 2 diabetes associated with unprocessed red meat and a moderate proportion of the risk for many dietary patterns associated with the disease. this. Consistent with previous studies, the researchers found no significant associations between non-heme iron intake from food or supplements and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The study also found that higher heme transport was associated with blood metabolic markers associated with type 2 diabetes: higher levels of antibodies such as C-peptide, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, leptin, and markers of blood pressure as well as low levels of beneficial hormones such as HDL cholesterol and adiponectin.
Researchers identified a dozen blood metabolites (including L-valine, L-lysine, uric acid, and several lipid metabolites) that may play a role in the link between heme iron transport and type 2 diabetes risk.
At the population level, the researchers believe that the research findings have important implications for nutritional strategies and public health strategies to reduce diabetes rates.
“This study highlights the importance of a healthy diet to prevent diabetes. Reducing heme iron intake, especially from red meat, and adopting a plant-based diet may be effective strategies for reducing diabetes risk,” corresponding author Frank Hu, Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology said.
The researchers acknowledge that the study has several limitations, including the possibility that confounding factors and measurement errors in epidemiological data are not fully accounted for. In addition, the findings should be replicated in other racial and ethnic groups, as they are based on a predominantly white study population.
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