Too Much (Iron-Rich) “Red” Meat Shortens Our Lifespan! :

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/diet-fitness/diabetes/articles/2009/03/23/too-much-red-meat-may-shorten-lifespan

A new “scientific” evidence by Mitoferrin KO in C. elegans

Mitoferrin is an iron importer into mitochondria, essential for the hemoglobin synthesis. Therefore, dysfunction (or knock-out) of mitoferrin in Zebrafish causes hypochromic anaemia and erythroid maturation arrest (1).

Interestingly, however, in the beginning of this year a Chinese group led by JianXin Lu, an “Iron Man”, at Wenzhou Medical College report that the reduction of mitoferrin (mfn) by the mfn siRNA treatment of C. elegans extends the lifespan of this worm by 50-80%, along with smaller body size, smaller progeny number (litter size), and slower movement (2). These effects have nothing to do with the so-called anti-oxidant effect (a “myth”!), because vitamin C, a typical anti-oxidant, does not cause any of these effects. More interestingly, these effects on this worm are apparently similar to those what CR (calorie restriction)-induced activation of the tumor suppressive kinase AMPK, dysfunction of IR (insulin-like receptor, DAF2), AGE-1 (PI3 kinase), TOR (target of rapamycin), or PAK1 genes would cause.

The latter “kinase” effects are executed through the tumor suppressing transcription factor FOXO, which is essential for both the longevity and expression of heat shock (chaperon) genes. Thus, it is conceivable that mitoferrin and these oncogenic kinases (IR, PI3 kinase, TOR and PAK1) are somehow linked to each other. However, unlike PAK1, mitoferrin has no effect on Hsp16 gene (unpublished observation), suggesting that mitoferrin's effect may be independent of both FOXO and heat shock (Hsp)genes.

I shall remind you that there are so many natural products, such as curcumin in Indian curry, propolis (bee-made antibiotics) and bitter melon (“Goya”), which suppress these oncogenic kinases without any adverse effect.

Thus, if you wish to live longer in a good health, I would recommend you to take a plenty of these natural products, and certainly less of red meat. However, if you have a great ambition to win a 100 m race, or have a dozen of children in your family, please don’t take these natural products, simply because you might suffer from fatique before reaching the goal, and dysfunction of your sperms which requires mitoferrin for their maturation. So it might be wise to take a sufficient red meat before you complete a family plan with a few children, and then switch a gear by taking these life-extending natural products, instead of red meat, to enjoy the remaining longer and healthier live.

References:

1. Shaw, G., Cope, J., Li, LT., Corson, K. et al. Mitoferrin is essential for erythroid iron assimilation. Nature, 2006, 440, 96-100.

2. Ren, YG., Yang, S., Tan, GQ., Ye, W. et al. Reduction of mitoferrin results in abnormal development and extended lifespan in C. elegans. PLoS One, 2012, 7, e29666.