Iron Man
Scientists may have discovered a new secret to extend human life: making sure there is the right amount of iron in our blood.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh analyzed data on the lifespan of 1.75 million people, including 60,000 who lived to reach an unusually older age, and found a clear link between blood iron levels and longer life. long, according to research published Thursday in the magazine Nature’s Communications. Specifically, the team found that multiple genes that appear to regulate blood iron levels are often found in long-lived people, and they now speculate that they could develop pharmaceuticals that extend shelf life to do the same.
Knowledge gap
The team also believes that their research fills a knowledge gap that explains the link between shelf life, diet, and disease.
“We are very excited about these findings, as they strongly suggest that high levels of iron in the blood reduce our healthy years of life, and keeping these levels under control could prevent age-related damage,” said Edinburgh researcher Paul Timmers in a press release. . “We speculate that our findings on iron metabolism may also begin to explain why very high levels of dietary iron-rich red meat have been linked to age-related conditions, such as heart disease.”
New preliminary work
However, Timmers cautioned that the implications for diet and any potential treatments are speculative for now, and well beyond the scope of this new study.
Still, the study lays an important foundation for future attempts to find out what makes some people live longer, and to find out how everyone else can get a slice of the iron-rich pie.
READ MORE: Blood iron levels may be key to slow aging, says genetic study [University of Edinburgh]
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