Diabetes FAQ » Diabetes Q&A » I am looking for a good diet for diabetes and I would like to know what role Iron plays in the cause or cure for diabetes?

I am looking for a good diet for diabetes and I would like to know what role Iron plays in the cause or cure for diabetes?

Do you remember when you would turn on the TV and there would be advertisements for Geritol? Many young people laughed it off as something that was needed to put the pep back into old people, but others did consider that iron poor blood could be making them feel so sluggish all the time.

Iron is produced in abundance in the outside environment; in fact it is the most available mineral on earth. Iron is also produced inside the body as well. Iron plays a roll in providing energy to the cells of the body and it also aids in cell growth. Two thirds of the iron produced in our bodies can be found in the blood stream. It is part of the make up for hemoglobin, which is the protein in red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen to the various tissues of our body. The last third of the iron produced in our bodies comes from a protein calls myoglobin, it too transports oxygen to the body’s muscle tissues along with other proteins that will aid in storing iron for future use.

Two types of iron present in food

The first type of iron is called heme iron, and it present in animal foods such as fish, red meat, and poultry. The other form of iron is called nonheme iron and that is present in plants type foods such as lentils, molasses, spinach, and beans.

Certain foods will promote iron absorptions while others will inhibit it. The foods which, absorb iron are foods rich in vitamin C these foods will promote nonheme iron. While tannis found in tea and other foods and calcium and phytates found in beans and of course other foods may hinder nonheme iron. With specific reference to women, our iron needs diminish overtime. Younger women require 18 mgs of iron and men and older women require 8mgs.

Hemochromatosis

Hemochromatosis is a disease where there is too much iron stored in the body, It is an inherited disease which can lead to type 1 diabetes. The symptoms include chronic joint pain, chronic fatigue, hair loss, menstrual irregularities, diabetes, impotence, liver disease, and pancreatic or liver cancer. The symptoms are common in men between 30 and 50 yeas of age and the symptoms surface in women who are 50 years of age and older. Sufferers of this disorder will have to avoid all ways of consuming iron, that includes foods such as raw seafood and processed food like breakfast cereals as well as iron supplements. They must also avoid alcohol.

Iron deficiency

Iron deficiency is not only a condition, which affects Americans; it affects 80 percent of the world. This includes pregnant women, babies and toddlers, teenage girls, and women in their childbearing phase of life. Also people withcertain disorders such as gastrointestinal and kidney problems are also at risk for iron deficiency. Only boys, men, and postmenopausal women are not at risk. The link between diabetes and iron deficiency.

Women who eat too much heme iron foods (animal meats) are at a risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In other words high levels of iron in the blood can cause type 2 diabetes and it also can cause damage to muscle tone. When damage to the muscle tone occurs the body it prevents the body from properly moving glucose from the blood into the cells, which results in improper production of insulin.

Final remarks

If you are a type 2 diabetic you would need to decrease your iron consumption not increase it. Iron rich animal foods contain a lot of fat and that can also lead to coronary heart disease or at least it is associated with it. For your diet you should concentrate more on vegetables such as lentils beans, and rice to get the right nonheme iron that your body needs.

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