Each Bite of Red Meat May Increase Diabetes Risk: Heme Iron Could Be the Culprit

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Each Bite of Red Meat May Increase Diabetes Risk: Heme Iron Could Be the Culprit

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Each Bite of Red Meat May Increase Diabetes Risk: Heme Iron Could Be the Culprit

Diabetes is a chronic disease affecting over 540 million people worldwide. Due to changes in lifestyle and dietary habits, diabetes has become the third leading factor affecting human health. In China alone, there are over 114 million adults with diabetes, accounting for a quarter of the global diabetic population, making it the country with the highest number of cases globally. This number continues to rise.

Heme iron is a form of iron bound to porphyrin in hemoglobin and myoglobin. Dietary iron is divided into heme iron, which is easily absorbed by the body and primarily found in animal red meat, liver, and blood, and non-heme iron, mainly found in plant-based foods, which is harder for the body to absorb.

Early studies have shown that the intake of heme iron in the diet is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, but the potential plasma biomarkers underlying this link remain unclear.

On August 13, 2024, researchers from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health published a study titled “Integration of epidemiological and blood biomarker analysis links heme iron intake to increased type 2 diabetes risk” in the journal *Nature Metabolism*.

The study revealed that higher dietary intake of heme iron is associated with a 26% increased risk of type 2 diabetes, particularly from red meat, where heme iron accounts for 65.6% of the red meat-related risk for type 2 diabetes.

Additionally, a higher intake of heme iron is linked to poor metabolic and diabetic biomarker profiles, including elevated levels of C-peptide, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, and hyperinsulinemia.

In this study, researchers analyzed data from three large U.S. studies: the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS), NHS II, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), encompassing the health data of 204,615 participants. They examined the association between heme iron intake and diabetes, as well as plasma metabolic biomarkers and metabolomic profiles of 37,544 and 9,024 participants, respectively.

The analysis included various measures of iron intake, such as total iron, heme iron, non-heme iron, dietary iron (from food), and supplemental iron (from supplements).

Over a follow-up period of up to 36 years, a total of 20,705 cases of diabetes were recorded.

The analysis found that among all forms of iron intake, only higher heme iron intake was associated with an increased risk of diabetes. Compared to those with the lowest intake, those with the highest intake had a 26% increased risk of type 2 diabetes, with consistent results across the three cohorts.

Dose-response analysis indicated a roughly linear relationship between heme iron intake and diabetes risk, with each additional 1 mg of daily heme iron intake increasing the diabetes risk by 28%, nearly matching the difference between the highest and lowest intake levels.

Further analysis found that higher red meat consumption led to higher heme iron intake, especially from unprocessed red meat, while diets limiting red meat had lower heme iron intake. Mediation analysis suggested that 65.6% of the association between unprocessed red meat and diabetes risk is mediated by heme iron intake.

Moreover, researchers discovered that higher heme iron intake is associated with poor metabolic health. Each additional 1 mg of daily heme iron intake was linked to a 6.3% increase in C-peptide levels, a 3.7% decrease in HDL cholesterol, a 6% increase in triglycerides, and an 8.5% increase in C-reactive protein.

Additionally, higher heme iron intake was associated with elevated levels of diabetic biomarkers, including C-peptide, triglycerides, C-reactive protein, and leptin. Metabolites such as l-alanine, l-valine, and uric acid may mediate the relationship between heme iron and diabetes.

The researchers emphasized that this study highlights the importance of a healthy diet in preventing diabetes, suggesting that reducing heme iron intake, particularly from red meat, is an effective strategy for lowering diabetes risk.

Notably, in June 2023, researchers from the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong published a study in the *European Heart Journal* titled “Red meat consumption, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.”

The study showed that high consumption of processed and unprocessed red meat increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Specifically, each additional 50 grams of processed red meat consumed daily increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 26% and diabetes by 44%. Each additional 100 grams of unprocessed red meat consumed daily increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 11% and diabetes by 27%.

In October 2023, researchers from Harvard University published a study in the *American Journal of Clinical Nutrition* titled “Red meat intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in a prospective cohort study of United States females and males.”

The study found that high consumption of red meat increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. Compared to those who consumed the least, those who consumed two servings of red meat daily had a 62% increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Each additional serving of processed red meat consumed daily increased the diabetes risk by 46%, while each additional serving of unprocessed red meat increased the risk by 24%.

One serving of unprocessed red meat is equivalent to 85 grams of pork, beef, or lamb, while one serving of processed red meat is equivalent to 28 grams of bacon or 45 grams of sausage.

Each Bite of Red Meat May Increase Diabetes Risk: Heme Iron Could Be the Culprit

References:

https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42255-024-01109-5

https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehad336

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.08.021

(source:internet, reference only)

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