Diabetics, watch out for that iron Indian Express via NewsEdge
Corporation :. If you are a diabetic then intake of iron-rich
food may invite heart problems for you. In its latest issue,
leading medical journal Diabetes Care has reported that
consuming red meat and other foods high in "heme" iron - like
chicken liver, clams and oysters -increases the risk of fatal
heart disease in diabetics. The researchers from Harvard
School of Public Health in the US advise that "patients with
Type 2 diabetes should limit consumption of heme iron and red
meat". For experts here, the study has come as an eye opener.
"It is usually seen that diabetics have a marked tendency
towards heart diseases. Diabetics have more endothelium
dysfunction, the platelet dysfunction is more, the deposition
of cholesterol is more and if a diabetic is taking supplement
iron capsules, the iron gets deposited in the muscle of the
heart, making it more vulnerable," says Dr Rakesh Yadav,
associate professor, cardiology, All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS). Though a direct co-relation is still
to be proven in India, he suggests that diabetics should avoid
overdose of iron and supplement iron capsules. Dr Anoop Misra,
Director and Head of Department of Diabetes and Metabolic
Diseases, Fortis Hospitals, too, advises caution. "This is the
first time such a thing has come forward. Vegetarian food
including vegetables like spinach which has high iron content
should henceforth be avoided by diabetics." The study, in
fact, found women more susceptible to heart disease. Those
with the highest intake of heme iron had a 50 per cent higher
risk of total Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) compared to those
with lowest intake. This poses a particular problem for India.
Most Indian women are anemic, which is why they are advised to
take iron rich food. "Women," Misra points out, "will be at
the receiving end, since they often need and take more iron
supplements than men." Curiously enough, the study noted that
pre-menopausal women may be at a lesser risk, since they lose
a significant amount of iron during menstruation. "The
positive association between heme iron and red meat intakes
and CHD was more evident among postmenopausal women compared
with premenopausal women," it said. Doctors feel that there is
a need for separate study to be undertaken for Indians. "The
food taken by women here and abroad is very different, so we
need to have a separate study to check the consequences in
Indian context," said a senior cardiologist in Bara Hindu Rao
Hospital. But till then, what is the option? Gynaecologists
advise that the only foolproof way is to get a haemoglobin
check for diabetic women before more iron consumption is
prescribed? "In India, women do need iron, but we have to make
sure there is no overdose," says Dr Asha Sharma, Head of Dept,
Gynaecology, Rockland Hospital. In fact, "before prescribing
iron supplements we always get a haemoglobin count done. In
case of diabetics, it is prescribed only if the haemoglobin
count is very low." How iron affects the heart An excess of
iron in the body leads to a condition call hemosiderosis. In
this, the iron gets stored in the body and some of it gets
deposited in the heart muscles, causing a disfunction and may
even lead to heart failure. The condition is called
cardiomyopathy. So, more intake of iron can indeed lead to
heart problems, says Dr JPS Sawhney, co-chairman department of
cardiology, Sir Ganga Ram hospital.