動物食物特別是紅肉中的血紅素鐵易被身體吸收，和來自蔬菜的非血紅素鐵的吸收率相比為 37% ：5%，很多營養專家建議吃肉類以攝入鐵。4月23日 Indiana University School of Public Health發表的文章裏，對過去10年21項包括近30萬人的研究進行分析，發現攝入血紅素鐵多的人，和很少攝入血紅素鐵的人相比，患心髒病風險升高57%。而攝入非血紅素鐵再多，也不會增加患心髒病風險。因為紅肉中的血紅素鐵一旦被吸收，它可能成為在LDL(低密度脂蛋白)氧化過程中的催化劑，從而導致組織損傷的炎症，這是一個潛在的冠心病危險因素。
全文: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140423170903.htm
IU Health and Vitality: Iron and heart disease, animal memory, and yoga tips
Research and insights from Indiana University
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The April issue of IU Health & Vitality discusses the following topics:
• Study: Iron consumption can increase risk for heart disease
• IU study opens prospects of new treatments for memory impairment
• Yoga is supposed to bring attention -- not tension -- to the body
Study: Iron consumption can increase risk for heart disease
Jacob Hunnicutt
A new study from the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington has bolstered the link between red meat consumption and heart disease by finding a strong association between heme iron, found only in meat, and potentially deadly coronary heart disease.
The study found that heme iron consumption increased the risk for coronary heart disease by 57 percent, while no association was found between nonheme iron, which is in plant and other non-meat sources, and coronary heart disease.
The study was published online ahead of print in the Journal of Nutrition. Along with first author Jacob Hunnicutt, a graduate student in the school's Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, the study’s co-authors are Ka He and Pengcheng Xun, faculty members in the department.
Hunnicutt said the link between iron intake, body iron stores and coronary heart disease has been debated for decades by researchers, with epidemiological studies providing inconsistent findings. The new IU research, a meta-analysis, examined 21 previously published studies and data involving 292,454 participants during an average 10.2 years of follow-up.
The new study is unique because it looks at the associations of total iron consumption as well as heme and nonheme iron intake in comparison to the risk of coronary heart disease. The only positive association involved the intake of heme iron.
The body treats the two kinds of iron differently. It can better control absorption of iron from vegetable sources, including iron supplements, but not so with iron from meat sources.
Iron stores in the body increase over time. The only way to reduce iron in the body is by bleeding, donating blood or menstruation. Some dietary choices, such as coffee and tea, also can inhibit iron absorption.
