Yesterday Britons were being warned to cut down on red meat to reduce the risk of cancer. Under new Department of Health guidelines, adults will be advised to eat no more than 500g a week. Many will cut out meat altogether — but, as Kate learned, this can have unexpected consequences.
One day she was out running when she suddenly felt very light-headed.
‘I was totally drained and knew I couldn’t run a step further — it was like all my energy had been used up and I thought I would collapse,’ says Kate, from London.
‘That night, my boyfriend Howard told me I was too pale and lacking energy, and he was worried about me. He was right: I was coming home from work exhausted, and had a cold I couldn’t shift.’
Kate saw her GP, and was astonished to discover she was anaemic — she had such low stores of iron that her body couldn’t make enough haemoglobin. This is a key component of red blood cells that helps transport oxygen around the body.
This lack of oxygen triggers symptoms such as fatigue, poor concentration, tiredness and dizziness.
Long-term effects include brittle hair and difficulties swallowing. In severe cases anaemia can cause chest pain, headaches and leg pains, and even lead to permanent changes to the lining of the throat, a precursor to cancer.
What was so surprising was what had caused Kate’s anaemia — her apparently healthy lifestyle.
‘I didn’t know anyone who looked after their health as well as I did,’ she says.
‘I went out of my way to eat foods like spinach, which I thought were iron-rich as I knew this was important.
‘I didn’t eat processed food, but always cooked meals from scratch using lentils and tofu. I took care to eat eggs and pulses for protein and filled up on bran flakes and milk for breakfast.’
Meat on a plate
Apart from the possible health risks - or not - of red meat, women are shunning it because they think it's fattening
Kate’s GP explained that her avoidance of red meat, the exercising and even the green tea had left her seriously lacking in iron.
Kate is one of an increasing number of women unwittingly putting themselves at risk of anaemia in pursuit of a healthy lifestyle.
One in four British women has an iron intake below the recommended 14.8mg a day. While all age groups are affected, 25 to 34-year-olds are particularly deficient, with up to 40 per cent lacking iron.
‘Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the UK,’ says Dr Emma Derbyshire, a senior lecturer in nutrition at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Dr Derbyshire believes the blame lies partly with recent health scares about meat, particularly the link between its high fat content and heart disease and bowel cancer.
In fact, recent messages about red meat have been confusing: just last week a British Nutrition Foundation study claimed that most adults ate ‘healthy amounts’ of red meat and the link to cancer was ‘inconclusive’.
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Then this week new guidelines drawn up by the Department of Health warned that while red meat is a valuable source of iron, eating too much can lead to cancer and heart disease.
Apart from the possible health risks — or not — of red meat, women are shunning it because they think it’s fattening.
As a result, women’s red meat consumption has plummeted — from an average of 161g per week in 2003 to just 91g in 2008, a drop of 40 per cent.
In fact, lean red meat such as steak is healthy and one of the best sources of iron, explains Dr Derbyshire.
‘The key is to stick to lean, unprocessed meat,’ she adds.
Another problem is that foods people think are iron-rich — such as spinach, chard, lentils, almonds and cashew nuts — contain a chemical called oxalic acid which can inhibit iron absorption.
Meanwhile, high-fibre foods such as fruits and vegetables contain chemicals called phytates which can slow down iron consumption.
Certain foods and drinks can also cause problems.
‘Tea, coffee and red wine contain compounds called polyphenols which, if drunk with your meal inhibit absorption of iron from vegetable sources,’ explains Dr Derbyshire.
Excessive exercise such as running can deplete iron stores — the impact of the foot on hard surfaces causes red blood cells to break down quicker, so iron is lost.
Given the confusion about the health risks of red meat, Dr Derbyshire believes we need guidelines on its consumption ‘just as we have about fish — saying we need a minimum of two portions a week’.
What about iron supplements? High iron levels are a risk factor for heart attacks, so people are advised not to take iron unless they’ve had a blood test which reveals they are iron-deficient.
Because her iron levels were so low, Kate Millet has to take a liquid iron supplement, Spatone. But within two months of changing her diet, she had regained her energy levels.
‘I drink orange juice with meals to boost iron absorption and avoid tea or coffee with food,’ she says.
‘I even eat two small portions of red meat a week, and I snack on iron-rich foods such as liquorice and sesame seeds.
‘I now know I need more than spinach and lentils to stay healthy.’
SO WHAT MAKES IT SO RISKY?
The new warnings issued yesterday over eating large amounts of red meat reignited debate about whether it does raise the risk of cancer and heart disease. But why would red meat be so bad for you?
TOO MUCH FAT: Animal fat has been linked with a wide range of cancers. But evidence suggests it’s not the amount you eat that counts, rather the amount that is stored as body fat. Scientists think carrying excess fat triggers a state of chronic inflammation in body tissues, which sparks cancer growth and heart disease.
CHEMICALS USED IN PROCESSING: Preservatives used in processed meats such as bacon, ham, sausages and pate kill food poisoning bugs and help keep the meat pink, but may damage the DNA of healthy cells in the stomach. ‘But adding ketchup, which contains antioxidants, to your bacon sandwich could help prevent that damage,’ says Catherine Collins, chief dietician at St George’s Hospital in London.
CHARRED MEAT: Grilled or charred meat releases different chemicals which bond together to form potentially cancer-causing compounds. Catherine Collins says eating a yogurt dip at the same time ‘neutralises their effect on the bowel’.
TOO MUCH IRON: Excess iron can damage cells in the bowel, increasing the risk of cancer. Eat meat with fibrous foods such as vegetables, to reduce the amount of time it lingers in the body.
SO WHAT MAKES IT SO RISKY?
Lean, unprocessed meat is the best source of easily absorbable iron — it also provides vital protein, vitamins and minerals.
Under new guidelines, Britons are to be advised to eat no more than 70g of red or processed meat a day.
* Choose cuts from the leg or loin of an animal. If you’re having a steak, choose a rump or sirloin cut. Least healthy is the rib eye: an 8oz steak has around 500 calories and 15g saturates — three-quarters of the recommended daily maximum. Offal — including liver, kidneys, tongue and tripe — is a good choice, as it is rich in protein and contains B vitamins, good for energy release and the nervous system.
* Avoid shoulder, ribs, belly, and neck and breast (of lamb), as these are higher fat, as are minced meats and sausages, even when grilled. The World Cancer Research Fund advises against processed meats such as ham, salami, hot dogs and bacon. Smoking or curing meat, or adding preservatives, cause the formation of carcinogens.
* The most sinful of all meat products is the doner kebab — an average portion supplies nearly all of an adult’s recommended daily salt content and 50 per cent more saturated fat than an adult should eat in a day.
* Grill, roast or stir-fry your meat for the healthiest result. A grilled 8oz rump or sirloin steak supplies fewer than 300 calories and only 4g of saturated fat. Roast venison, grilled pork loin chops or a roast leg of lamb are good options, too.
* Avoid meat and poultry that has been breaded or fried, or has been cooked in pastry.
Blood cancers such as leukemia cause abnormal cell production
When cancer begins to develop, it usually starts with the malfunction of a single cell. In the case of leukemia, it begins with an abnormal cell in the bone marrow of a patient, which multiplies faster than normal. Leukemia is a form of blood cancer that causes an abnormal production of white blood cells. It is the most prevalent terminal cancer in children, and makes up around 10 percent of all cancers in the United States.
Although the survival rate for leukemia and lymphatic cancers has risen from 14 percent to over 50 percent since the 1960s, children under five diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) have a 90.8 percent chance of survival.
Since leukemia is a blood cancer, it causes an anomalous production of white blood cells called leukemia cells that inhibit the other stem cells from doing their job. Normal bone marrow produces stem cells that develop into red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets — which help form blood clots. Leukemia cells have a longer lifespan and cause anemia, an early sign of leukemia. With a decreased platelet and red and white cell count, patients bruise more easily, experience fatigue faster, and become more susceptible to infections. Doctors do not know the causes of leukemia, but there have been correlations to radiation exposure, typically due to previous chemotherapy dosage.
There are several types of leukemia that are classified according to which kind of white blood cell they affect and how quickly they develop. Chronic leukemia develops over time and sometimes does the work of normal white blood cells, while acute leukemia is more degenerative and worsens in a short amount of time, affecting mostly children. The most common form of leukemia in children is acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a type of malignant cancer in which white blood cells do not mature and wreak havoc on surrounding cells. According to www.webmd.com, doctors use bone marrow biopsies or lumbar punctures to determine if a patient has leukemia. These procedures involve withdrawing spinal fluid with a syringe and examining cell proteins to see if there is abnormal activity. In ALL, a similar process happens in the body, but the cancer affects lymphocytes instead, which are cells that eventually mature into B and T cells. Causes of ALL have also been traced to prenatal radiation exposure, according to www.medterms.com.
When patients are diagnosed with leukemia, they are first treated with chemotherapy, which involves a combination of drugs and radiation used to kill cancer cells. In cases where radiation and chemotherapy do not work, a bone marrow transplant is needed. This method consists of bone marrow from a donor, usually a close relative or immediate family member, so the donated cells can start to produce normal marrow cells. WebMD states that if this is successful, the marrow cells will take hold after one to three weeks and the patient will need to be in isolation to prevent infection (since the patient has a weakened immune system and no working white blood cells) and blood transfusions.
If all goes well, a patient will be cancer-free after a few weeks of chemotherapy and radiation. However, he or she will be required to have repeat visits to the doctor to ensure proper health quality and immunity. In worst case scenarios, a patient in remission will relapse and have to repeat the treatment all over again, but such cases are rare. To learn more about leukemia or other blood cancers, visit www.leukemia-lymphoma.org, where one can also donate or participate in a Team in Training walk, a charitable activity that raises money for leukemia research. Higher levels of bilirubin In blood cuts lung cancer risk
New research including more than 500,000 adults shows that levels in the blood of bilirubin in the normal range but relatively higher were linked to a reduced risk of lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and all-cause death, according to a study to be published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Bilirubin is a compound produced by the breakdown of hemoglobin from red blood cells.
It is in excreted urine, and high levels may indicate certain diseases. It is responsible for the yellow color of bruises and the yellow discoloration in jaundice. Bilirubin may also have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, which help protect cells, the researchers said.
Bilirubin is created by the activity of biliverdin reductase on biliverdin, a green tetrapyrrolic bile pigment which is also a product of heme catabolism. Bilirubin, when oxidized, reverts to become biliverdin once again. This cycle, in addition to the demonstration of the potent antioxidant activity of bilirubin, has led to the hypothesis that bilirubin’s main physiologic role is as a cellular antioxidant.
Previous studies suing animals have shown that raised bilirubin levels in the blood appears to protect the lungs against environmental damage, which may be due to the potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of bilirubin, she added.
Laura J. Horsfall, M.Sc., of University College London, and colleagues examined the association between serum bilirubin levels and the incidence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer and all-cause death in a large population-based group of patients from the United Kingdom .
Although the research did not establish causality for any of the relationships, there is some experimental evidence that bilirubin has benefits for respiratory health because of its cytoprotective properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative effects, according to the researchers.
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