Can Diabetics Take Iron Supplements?

Prepregnancy Iron Intake And Risk For Gestational Diabetes

ObjectiveIt is important to identify modifiable factors that may lower gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk. Dietary iron is of particular interest given that iron is a strong prooxidant, and high body iron levels can damage pancreatic -cell function and impair glucose metabolism. The current study is to determine if prepregnancy dietary and supplemental iron intakes are associated with the risk of GDM. Research Design and MethodsA prospective study was conducted among 13,475 women who reported a singleton pregnancy between 1991 and 2001 in the Nurses' Health Study II. A total of 867 incident GDM cases were reported. Pooled logistic regression was used to estimate the relative risk (RR) of GDM by quintiles of iron intake controlling for dietary and nondietary risk factors. ResultsDietary heme iron intake was positively and significantly associated with GDM risk. After adjusting for age, BMI, and other risk factors, RRs (95% CIs) across increasing quintiles of heme iron were 1.0 (reference), 1.11 (0.871.43), 1.31 (1.031.68), 1.51 (1.171.93), and 1.58 (1.212.08), respectively (P for linear trend 0.0001). The multivariate adjusted RR for GDM associated with every 0.5-mg per day of increase in intake was 1.22 (1.101.36). No significant associations were observed between total dietary, nonheme, or supplemental iron intake and GDM risk. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that higher prepregnancy intake of dietary heme iron is associated with an increased GDM risk. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common pregnancy complications affecting approximately 7% of all pregnancies and up to 14% of pregnancies in high-risk populations.[ 1 ] Overweight and obesity are the major modifiable risk factors of GDM. However, the overall population attributable fractio Continue reading >>

Iron-rich Foods For Diabetics

August McLaughlin is a certified nutritionist and health writer with more than nine years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in various magazines such as "Healthy Aging," "CitySmart," "IAmThatGirl" and "ULM." She holds specializations in eating disorders, healthy weight management and sports nutrition. She is currently completing her second cookbook and Weight Limita series of body image/nutrition-related PSAs. A bowl of fresh baby spinach on a wooden table.Photo Credit: oxyzay/iStock/Getty Images Most people require between 10mg and 15mg of iron per day. If you have diabetes, getting proper amounts of iron in your diet is important. According to The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, anemia, or iron deficiency, is a considerable risk for those who have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. In order to ensure your iron levels remain healthy, regularly incorporate iron-rich foods into your diet. Many foods that contain iron are nutritious in other ways, providing enhanced wellness and lower risk of iron deficiency. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, legumes such as kidney beans, lima beans, pinto beans and canned white or baked beans are good sources of iron. They're also low in fat and contain lean protein, fiber and other nutrients that support healthy blood sugar as well as overall wellness. One-half cup of beans is considered one serving size, or one cup of bean-based soup. Incorporate a variety of legumes as part of your regular diet for best results. They are a versatile food group, so if you enjoy cooking, incorporate them into your standard recipes in place of high-fat red meat or processed meats, such as sausage. If you're vegetarian, legumes are an excellent meat-free protein food choice. Leafy greens such as spinach Continue reading >>

The Good And Bad Of Iron

Many people worry about getting too little ironfor good reason. Iron, after all, is essential to life. Most iron in our bodies is incorporated in hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood, and in myoglobin in muscle, but every living cell has and needs iron to function. Iron is also stored in the liver, spleen and bone marrow. Without it, your cells would become starved for oxygen, your brain and muscles wouldnt function, and your immune system would be impaired, among other problems. But that doesnt mean most people need to take an iron supplementor even a multivitamin /mineral pill that contains iron. In fact, too much iron can be dangerous. Survival of the species depended on humans evolving to maintain iron stores during reproductive and early care-giving years. Having enough iron in reserve is essential for growth, healthy pregnancies, and periods of dietary restrictions and starvation, and it helps replace iron lost via menstruation and other blood loss. But the flip side of iron is less rosy. Theres increasing evidence from population, genetic, lab and animal studies that iron accumulation over the years may contribute to conditions such as atherosclerosis and diabetes, and that iron may speed up the aging process in general. Iron can be toxic to the nervous system and has been linked to a variety of neurological conditions, from strokes to Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease. As a 2007 review from the University of Michigan Medical School hypothesized, iron fuels the generation of cell-damaging free radicals, which takes its toll in the later years of life. That is, an iron level that is desirable earlier in life during growth and reproduction may not be beneficial later in life. The body has natural antioxidant protective mechanisms that help fend off free r Continue reading >>

6 Of The Best Dietary Supplements For A Diabetic Diet—and 3 You Should Avoid

Should I take supplements? From cinnamon and magnesium to herbal formulas claiming to smack down high blood sugar, “diabetes-friendly” supplements are popping up in health food stores and drugstores and in the medicine cabinets of more and more people with diabetes. More than 50 percent of people with diabetes say they’ve used dietary supplements, according to one 2011 study—and at least one in four has given herbal remedies a try. The big question: Should you? “People with diabetes may be looking for something that seems less potent than a medication or something that will treat other health issues beyond blood sugar control, such as high cholesterol,” notes Laura Shane-McWhorter, PharmD, a University of Utah professor of pharmacotherapy and author of The American Diabetes Association Guide to Herbs & Nutritional Supplements: What You Need to Know from Aloe to Zinc. But experts are reluctant to recommend supplements to people with diabetes for two important health reasons. First, there’s virtually no research on long-term safety. Second, no supplement controls blood sugar as effectively as diabetes drugs (in combination with a healthy lifestyle). “There are no miracle treatments for diabetes,” Shane-McWhorter says. “The most important thing to know if you have diabetes is that no supplement will take care of it for you. Diabetes is a condition that can be well-controlled with a healthy lifestyle plus medication if needed. A supplement can’t replace those.” And new science is changing the supplement landscape. In consulting the latest research as well as supplement experts for this report on the best-studied and most widely used supplements, we found that some popular pills—chromium, we’re talking about you—aren’t living up to their reput Continue reading >>

Pumping Iron To Improve Your Diabetes Control

To maintain a healthy body and to promote good diabetes control, your body needs iron! You may remember from your high school chemistry that iron is a strong, hard, magnetic, silver-gray metal that is atomic number 26 in the chemical element list. Iron is found naturally in the foods we eat, and iron is a component of tools that we use in everyday life, including our cast iron skillets and our iron dumbbells and exercise machines. Our body and muscles need to be pumped with both the iron found in food, as well as with the iron in these important tools, so that we can be strong and healthy. Resistance training with iron dumbbells (or other resistance exercise equipment) helps build lean body mass (or muscle). The more lean body mass or muscle that we have, the better our body handles the circulation of the hormone insulin that regulates blood sugar. A hallmark sign of type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance, which is affected by the ratio of abdominal fat to lean body mass. Insulin resistance can be reduced or eliminated with resistance training or by “pumping iron,” and thus improve overall diabetes management. Are you pumping enough iron? Resistance training should be performed at least two to three times per week and include all major muscle groups. To allow for muscle recovery, include one day between training sessions. Most people are deficient in pumping iron this often. Do you have this type of iron deficiency? The Other Iron deficiency: More than 1 billion people are also deficient in the nutrient iron. Iron, as a component of hemoglobin, is responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood, while iron as a component of myoglobin is what makes oxygen available for muscle contraction. Iron also helps the body utilize energy. Nutrient Iron Deficiency in People wit Continue reading >>

Too Much Iron Linked To Gestational Diabetes

THURSDAY, Nov. 10, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- High levels of iron have been linked with an increased risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes), begging the question whether routine recommendations of iron supplements are warranted, a new study says. The new research found that women with the highest iron levels during the second trimester of pregnancy had more than twice the risk of developing gestational diabetes, compared with women with the lowest iron levels. "Our study findings raise potential concerns about the recommendation of routine iron supplementation among pregnant women who already have sufficient iron," said study author Shristi Rawal. She's an epidemiologist with the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. But, the study only showed an association between iron levels and gestational diabetes; the research wasn't designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship. Still, at least one expert expressed concern. This study shows that "you can't globally treat every pregnant woman with iron," said Dr. Robert Courgi, an endocrinologist at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y. "We should diagnose iron deficiency, then treat," he said. "It is true that there will be a large proportion of pregnant women who require iron therapy," Courgi noted. "If follow-up studies can confirm the link of iron therapy to gestational diabetes, then we should identify women who are iron sufficient so they can avoid unnecessary iron therapy and the risk of gestational diabetes," Courgi said. The study included 107 women who had gestational diabetes. The researchers compared them with 214 women who didn't develop the condition. Specifically, the researchers looked at several markers in the blood from which they could calculate the amount Continue reading >>

Could Excessive Iron Supplements In Pregnancy Increase Risk Of Type-1 Diabetes?

Could excessive iron supplements in pregnancy increase risk of type-1 diabetes? Higher blood levels of iron in new-born babies were found to be associated with a higher likelihood of type-1 diabetes (T1D) before the age of 16, according to a recent study in Nutrients. A doubling of iron content of the infants blood was linked to more than twice the risk of developing childhood T1D, discovered the research team led by Herlev University Hospital, Denmark. The scientists also found that neonates blood iron content increased with maternal age and that baby girls had significantly higher levels of blood iron than boys. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate and demonstrate a positive association between neonatal iron content in blood and the risk of developing T1D before the age of 16 years. Furthermore, iron content was significantly lower in boys than in girls, and increased with maternal age, wrote lead author Julie Nyholm Kyvsgaard. This association became even stronger after adjusting for possible confounders (sex, maternal age at delivery, birth weight, gestational age, and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) risk), she added. Iron deficiency and anaemia are common in pregnancy. Iron supplementation is frequently recommended to satisfy increased maternal demands during the term. However, a previous study had shown that 37% of Danish pregnant women consumed more than the recommended level of 50-70 milligrams/day (mg/d). The findings raise a concern that iron overload may possibly be involved with pancreatic beta-cell injury, although mechanisms for this are not established. The study was of case-control design and involved 199 children diagnosed with T1D prior to age 16. Iron was measured in the infants using a single dried blood spot sample. Due to the obs Continue reading >>

The Nuts And Bolts Of Dietary Iron

Despite the many jokes about doctors and their love of golf, golf clubs arent the only irons physicians talk about. Although its in the headlines less often than protein, trans fat, or calcium, iron is more than just the metal in a golf club its also an important part of your diet, and a lack of iron can cause some serious problems. Iron is an essential mineral that is needed for the formation of red blood cells, hemoglobin (the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen), and myoglobin (the protein that carries oxygen in muscle). In addition to carrying oxygen, iron is involved in energy metabolism, collagen formation, immune system function, and the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. Approximately two-thirds of the iron in our bodies is found in hemoglobin, with smaller amounts found in myoglobin, some catalytic molecules (enzymes), and in storage molecules such as ferritin (a protein that stores iron and releases it when the blood has too little of it). Despite irons many roles, the total amount of iron in the body only adds up to roughly one teaspoon. About 15% of our bodys iron is stored for future needs or as a backup for when dietary intake is insufficient. Our bodies obtain iron from the food that we eat (or supplements), and on average, we lose about 1 milligram of iron each day (a very small amount) through intestinal blood loss (and some small amounts lost through sweat and urine), although premenopausal women lose more iron than others from blood lost through menstruation. The iron we consume from foods comes in two forms, heme and nonheme. Heme iron is found in meat, poultry, fish, and eggs. Nonheme iron is found in foods of plant origin, including dark green, leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, iron-enriched grains, an Continue reading >>

10 Reasons Why You Might Need Iron Supplements

10 Reasons Why You Might Need Iron Supplements Iron is a mineral thats vital to your health. All of your cells contain some iron, but most of the iron in your body is in your red blood cells. Red blood cells transport oxygen from your lungs to the organs and tissues throughout your body. Iron has a role in creating energy from nutrients. It also contributes to the transmission of nerve impulses the signals that coordinate the actions of different parts of your body. If you have more iron than is needed, its stored in your body for future use. The average American gets all the iron they need from the foods they eat. But there are certain situations and conditions that may make it necessary to add supplemental iron to your diet. Iron deficiency anemia is caused when theres not enough iron in your red blood cells. Without healthy levels of iron, your red blood cells cannot effectively provide oxygen to your cells and tissues. Women who arent pregnant or nursing need to take in 15 to 18 milligrams of iron daily. Women who are pregnant need significantly more iron. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the recommended dietary allowance of iron for pregnant women is 27 milligrams per day. Dont double up on your prenatal vitamins if youre concerned that youre not getting enough iron. This could cause you to get too much of other vitamins, and may hurt your baby. Instead, talk to your doctor about taking an iron supplement along with your prenatal vitamin. Babies build stores of excess iron from their mothers while theyre in the womb. These stores are used during their first six months of life when theyre nursing. You should add iron-fortified foods to their diet when your baby is 6 months of age. Most pediatricians recommend using a formula thats fortified wit Continue reading >>

Too Much Iron Could Be A Type 2 Diabetes Risk Factor

Too much iron could be a type 2 diabetes risk factor Too much iron in the body is believed to have an effect on how the body breaks down sugar in the blood and could be a potential risk for developing type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. A recently published report by DrAlex O Aregbesola of theUniversity of Eastern Finland found that even a mildly raised level of body iron could lead to type 2 diabetes . The study reported that while excess body iron building up was a known risk factor of type 2 diabetes and could be passed on hereditarily, the results showed that elevated iron levels could also be a risk factor in the general population. Taking iron supplements that have not been prescribed by your doctor could be a health risk In addition, the results showed that men could be at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than women due to storing up more iron than women. Men had 61% higher cases of iron and a 46% increased chance of developing type 2 diabetes when compared to women. At comparable age groups, men were found to build up more iron than women, and iron explained about two-fifths and one-fifth of the gender difference in type 2 diabetes cases and rates respectively. However, having a moderate amount of iron stored in the body was found to be safer than a lack of iron. The link between body iron and reduced blood sugar (glucose) metabolism was strongest among people showing signs of pre-diabetes. Unhealthy eating habits linked with the rise in new cases of type 2 diabetes include excessive intake of iron, which can be found in many foods including brown rice, nuts, eggs, dried fruit, and taking iron supplements that had not been prescribed by a doctor. Iron is a micronutrient that is needed in the formation of some essential body proteins and enzym Continue reading >>

Effects Of The Interaction Of Diabetes And Iron Supplementation On Hepatic And Pancreatic Tissues, Oxidative Stress Markers, And Liver Peroxisome Proliferator-activated Receptor- Expression

Effects of the interaction of diabetes and iron supplementation on hepatic and pancreatic tissues, oxidative stress markers, and liver peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor- expression 1Ncleo de Pesquisas em Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 1Ncleo de Pesquisas em Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 1Ncleo de Pesquisas em Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 4Departamento de biodiversidade, Evoluo e Meo Ambiente Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 1Ncleo de Pesquisas em Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 2Departamento de Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 1Ncleo de Pesquisas em Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 3Departamento de Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 1Ncleo de Pesquisas em Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 2Departamento de Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 1Ncleo de Pesquisas em Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, 35400-000, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 2Departamento de Cincias Biolgicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 3Departamento de Alimentos, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil 4Departamento de biodiversidade, Evoluo e Meo Ambiente Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazi Continue reading >>

Iron: How This Supplement Could Impact Your A1c

We need iron. Without enough iron, we’ll get sick. But too much iron can kill us. As with so many things relating to our health, it’s a balancing act. Most people who eat meat get sufficient iron. Some foods these days are also supplemented with iron. The chocolate syrup Bosco was designed to get children to consume more iron. Cooking in iron pots, especially cooking acid foods, adds iron to our diet. Multivitamins designed for younger people contain iron (especially those for pregnant women, as the fetus consumes a lot of iron). Hence nonpregnant Western people who aren’t vegetarians usually get enough iron from their diet. People in Third World countries who don’t get much meat, however, are often iron deficient. Heme iron, or the iron that is in hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying molecule in red blood cells, is absorbed even more efficiently than the nonheme iron that you get when you eat vegetables or take an iron-containing multivitamin pill. So eating meat, especially red meat and liver, should ensure that you get enough iron. Vitamin C will increase the absorption of iron, and large amounts of calcium or whole grains will decrease it. Those of us over 60 probably remember all those ads for “tired blood” in the 1950s and 1960s that implied that older people were tired because they didn’t have enough iron and needed to supplement with Geritol. So should we all try to get as much iron as possible? Nope. There is some evidence that high iron levels contribute to heart disease, and most “senior vitamins,” designed for people who are at an age at which heart disease is more likely, don’t have any added iron. Some people think that losing blood every month helps to protect younger women from heart disease. This protection is lost after menopause. Iron l Continue reading >>

Diabetes Cause Linked To Iron

Home / Resources / Articles / Diabetes Cause Linked to Iron Researchers at the University of Copenhagen, in conjunction with those at Novo Nordisk A/S, have presented a new concept concerning the cause of diabetes which is linked to iron and how it causes beta cell death. The pancreas is the "diabetes organ" because it produces beta cells, found in the islets of Langerhans, which play a crucial role in the disease. Beta cells respond to an increase in sugar levels in the blood stream by releasing insulin (which they store) and also producing more of the hormone so sugar can be transported into the cells. In people who have type 2 diabetes, the beta cells are unable to produce enough of the insulin the body needs. One reason for this problem may be blamed on the increased activity of a protein that transports iron and also destroys beta cells. According to Professor Thomas Mandrup-Poulsen, of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, "increased activity of a certain iron transporter causes damage to the beta cell," which can lead to diabetes. More specifically, in this new study, which was conducted using mice, the researchers reported several important findings: It is the first study to show a link between inflammation and the transport of iron, which the investigators believe to be the underlying cause of a higher risk for diabetes; Inflammatory signal factors produced around the beta cells in people who have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes speed up the activity of the iron transporter; and Removal of the iron transporter in genetically modified mice resulted in the animals being protected against diabetes. A recent (2012) meta-analysis published in PLoS One explored the relationship between the bodys iron stores or iron intake from the diet and the risk of type 2 diabe Continue reading >>

Diabetes And Anemia

If you have diabetes, you’ll need to have your blood checked regularly for anemia. It’s common for people with diabetes to also end up with this blood condition. It happens when your body’s red blood cells can’t deliver as much oxygen as your body needs. If you spot anemia early on, you can better manage the issues causing it. Usually, it happens because you don’t have enough red blood cells. That can make you more likely to get certain diabetes complications, like eye and nerve damage. And it can worsen kidney, heart, and artery disease, which are more common in people with diabetes. Diabetes often leads to kidney damage, and failing kidneys can cause anemia. Healthy kidneys know when your body needs new red blood cells. They release a hormone called erythropoietin (EPO), which signals your bone marrow to make more. Damaged kidneys don’t send out enough EPO to keep up with your needs. Often, people don’t realize they have kidney disease until it’s very far along. But if you test positive for anemia, it can be an early sign of a problem with your kidneys. People with diabetes are more likely to have inflamed blood vessels. This can keep bone marrow from getting the signal they need to make more red blood cells. And some medications used to treat diabetes can drop your levels of the protein hemoglobin, which you need to carry oxygen through your blood. These drugs include ACE inhibitors, fibrates, metformin, and thiazolidinediones. If you take one of these, talk to your doctor about your risk for anemia. If you have kidney dialysis, you may have blood loss, and that can also cause anemia. When your brain and other organs don’t get enough oxygen, you feel tired and weak. Other signs you may have anemia include: Shortness of breath Dizziness Headache Pale Continue reading >>

Is It Safe To Take Supplements If You Have Diabetes?

You will find supplements for anything and everything these days. Even when you do not suffer from an ailment, supplements are suggested to keep you healthy and ailment-free. According to CDC, use of supplements is common among US adult population – over 50% adults used supplements during 2003-2006, with multivitamins/multiminerals being the most commonly used. So when you are a diabetic, especially if you have prediabetes and type-2 diabetes, you may find yourself confronting a large number of options for supplements that claim to support, reduce and even cure your diabetes. Diabetes is quite a frustrating disorder and you may find yourself tempted to try out these supplements one after another. But is it really safe to take supplements when you are a diabetic? Let us find out. But before that you need to understand what exactly supplements are. Defining Supplements As the name suggests, a supplement is anything that adds on to something. A dietary supplement is therefore something that one takes in addition to one’s diet to get proper nutrition. US Congress in the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act defines dietary supplements as having the following characteristics: It is a product that is intended to supplement the diet; It contains one or more dietary ingredients (including vitamins, minerals, herbs and other botanicals, amino acids, and other substances) or their constituents; It is intended to be taken by mouth as a pill, capsule, tablet, or liquid; It is not represented for use as a conventional food or as sole item of a mean or a diet; and, It is labeled on the front panel as being a dietary supplement. Now let us look at some general benefits and risks of taking supplements. We will discuss these in context of diabetes later in the article. Benefit Continue reading >>