But yeah, here I am. The more you know ... the less you "know".
Here is the latest:
Lactoferrin was examined for its effect on the growth of a human colon adenocarcinoma cell line (HT 29) in culture and its action was compared to that produced by transferrin and two different iron solutions (ferrous sulfate and ferric chloride). When transferrin was replaced by either iron solutions the cell grew in proportion to the quantity added and the maximal effect obtained was identical to that produced by transferrin alone. When transferrin was replaced by lactoferrin the cells were unable to proliferate for a long time. However, in the presence of low-concentration iron solutions, lactoferrin stimulated the cell growth, and the effect was more pronounced with the ferric chloride solution.
http://www.jstor.org/pss/4292846
Short version: the more iron your gut can get, the more cancer. The American diet is loaded with available iron, mainly because of a well-intentioned idea of getting rid of anemia. But it may have set us up, combined with our low fiber content diet, for a lot of gut cancer.
Iron was added to the American diet to avoid anemia, which was a huge problem. Adding iron to anemic kids, worked wonders. Works for pigs too: they grow faster and bigger. But get this:
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of weekly treatment with ferrous sulfate on hemoglobin level, morbidity and nutritional status in a sample of anemic infants from Zona da Mata Meridional in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.
METHODS: A controlled, community-based intervention was carried out with 378 infants who were followed-up for 18 months. Hemoglobin level was measured at 12 months in a total of 245 children randomly selected. Participating infants were divided into three groups: two received 45 mg of elemental iron weekly, from 12 to 18 months of life (69 children with moderate/severe anemia, and 111 with mild anemia); the third group was composed of 65 non-anemic children, who received no intervention. The remaining 133 children constituted the control group, for comparisons on nutritional status and morbidity.
RESULTS: The prevalence of anemia was 73.5% at 12 months of life. After 6 months of treatment, 42.3% of anemic children reached hemoglobin levels > 11.0 g/dL. The mean increase was 1.6 g/dL, being higher (2.5 g/dL) in the group with lower levels of hemoglobin at baseline. Children without anemia at baseline received no treatment, and 40.3% of them became anemic at the end of follow-up, with a mean decrease of 0.5 g/dL in hemoglobin levels. A significantly greater weight gain was observed in the two treated groups, while no significant improvements were seen in linear growth and duration of diarrhea.
CONCLUSIONS: The fact that less than half the children receiving ferrous sulfate recovered from anemia at the end of follow-up, along with the development of anemia in many untreated, previously non-anemic infants, suggests the need for effective control strategies.
So: short version. Kids who are short on iron, get better when they get iron. Kids who are not short on iron ... get worse when they get added iron. Kids with no anemia, became anemic when they got extra iron. Both groups got weight gain.
What exactly does this mean? Maybe: more iron = more weight. Works for Sumo wrestlers, and for piglets. But also, you can be getting a lot of iron, be fat, and test as *anemic* which means you will be prescribed more iron supplements. We don't really understand iron, even though it comprises a lot of our planet.
The "big" people on our planet, based on my reading, are mainly people living off big ruminants. It's not a matter of protein, because the fish and whale eaters get plenty of that, but they stay short. People got tall when they ate ruminants, I think because of all the heme iron? Or some hormone in the meat or milk. Neu5GC even. It's a trigger of some kind, and not as simple as macronutrient ratios.
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