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Iron, Human Growth, and the Global Epidemic of Obesity
Iron is an essential nutrient utilized in almost every aspect of cell function and its availability has previously limited life. Those same properties which allow iron to function as a catalyst in the reactions of life also present a threat via generation of oxygen-based free radicals. Accordingly;...
Autores principales: | , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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MDPI
2013
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3820071/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24152754 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu5104231 |
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author | Sangani, Rahul G. Ghio, Andrew J. |
author_facet | Sangani, Rahul G. Ghio, Andrew J. |
author_sort | Sangani, Rahul G. |
collection | PubMed |
description | Iron is an essential nutrient utilized in almost every aspect of cell function and its availability has previously limited life. Those same properties which allow iron to function as a catalyst in the reactions of life also present a threat via generation of oxygen-based free radicals. Accordingly; life exists at the interface of iron-deficiency and iron-sufficiency. We propose that: (1) human life is no longer positioned at the limits of iron availability following several decades of fortification and supplementation and there is now an overabundance of the metal among individuals of many societies; (2) this increased iron availability exerts a positive effect on growth by targeting molecules critical in regulating the progression of the cell cycle; there is increased growth in humans provided greater amounts of this metal; and indices of obesity can positively correlate with body stores of iron; and (3) diseases of obesity reflect this over-abundance of iron. Testing potential associations between iron availability and both obesity and obesity-related diseases in populations will be difficult since fortification and supplementation is so extensively practiced. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-3820071 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2013 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-38200712013-11-09 Iron, Human Growth, and the Global Epidemic of Obesity Sangani, Rahul G. Ghio, Andrew J. Nutrients Review Iron is an essential nutrient utilized in almost every aspect of cell function and its availability has previously limited life. Those same properties which allow iron to function as a catalyst in the reactions of life also present a threat via generation of oxygen-based free radicals. Accordingly; life exists at the interface of iron-deficiency and iron-sufficiency. We propose that: (1) human life is no longer positioned at the limits of iron availability following several decades of fortification and supplementation and there is now an overabundance of the metal among individuals of many societies; (2) this increased iron availability exerts a positive effect on growth by targeting molecules critical in regulating the progression of the cell cycle; there is increased growth in humans provided greater amounts of this metal; and indices of obesity can positively correlate with body stores of iron; and (3) diseases of obesity reflect this over-abundance of iron. Testing potential associations between iron availability and both obesity and obesity-related diseases in populations will be difficult since fortification and supplementation is so extensively practiced. MDPI 2013-10-22 /pmc/articles/PMC3820071/ /pubmed/24152754 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu5104231 Text en © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). |
spellingShingle | Review Sangani, Rahul G. Ghio, Andrew J. Iron, Human Growth, and the Global Epidemic of Obesity |
title | Iron, Human Growth, and the Global Epidemic of Obesity |
title_full | Iron, Human Growth, and the Global Epidemic of Obesity |
title_fullStr | Iron, Human Growth, and the Global Epidemic of Obesity |
title_full_unstemmed | Iron, Human Growth, and the Global Epidemic of Obesity |
title_short | Iron, Human Growth, and the Global Epidemic of Obesity |
title_sort | iron, human growth, and the global epidemic of obesity |
topic | Review |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3820071/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24152754 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu5104231 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT sanganirahulg ironhumangrowthandtheglobalepidemicofobesity AT ghioandrewj ironhumangrowthandtheglobalepidemicofobesity |