Simple sugar supplementation abrogates exercise-induced increase in hepcidin in young men

Abstract

BackgroundAt present many young people experience too much body iron accumulation. The reason of this phenomenon is not clear. There is accumulating evidences that not proper diet and lack of exercise could be a main contributing factors. This investigation assessed the effects of a diet rich in simple sugars (glucose or fructose) on exercise-induced hepcidin which is hormone regulating iron metabolism.MethodsA group of physically active young men completed an incremental exercise test before and after a 3-day diet supplemented with fructose (4 g/kg BM) or glucose (4 g/kg BM). After a 1-week break, they crossed over to the alternate mode for the subsequent 3-days period. Venous blood samples were collected before and after 1 h exercise and were analysed for serum hepcidin, IL-6, CRP, iron, and ferritin. The physiological response to exercise was also determined.ResultsThe concentration of hepcidin increased 1 h after exercise for the baseline test (p < 0.05), whereas no changes in hepcidin were observed in men whose diet was supplemented with fructose or glucose. Blood IL-6 increased significantly after exercise only in subjects supplemented with fructose. Changes in hepcidin did not correlate with shifts in serum IL-6.ConclusionsThese data suggest that protective effects of exercise on excess iron accumulation in human body which is mediated by hepcidin can be abrogated by high sugar consumption which is typical for contemporary people.

Effects of an Acute Exercise Bout on Serum Hepcidin Levels

“…The majority of the studies included in the present review, 15 out of the 21 studies, assessed the circulating expression of hepcidin at 3 h post-exercise [ 23 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ]. Moreover, the circulating fraction of serum hepcidin levels was evaluated immediately [ 63 , 64 , 70 ], as well as at 1 h [ 72 , 73 ], 5 h [ 59 ], 6 h [ 63 , 71 ], 9 h [ 63 ], 10 h [ 64 ], 14 h [ 74 ], 24 h [ 62 , 72 , 75 , 76 ], and five days after the exercise bout [ 72 ].…”

“…An upregulation of the circulating expression of hepcidin was observed in 20 of the 21 studies analyzed [ 23 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 75 , 76 , 77 ]. Regarding the different time-points utilized, hepcidin increased immediately post-exercise in four out of five studies [ 66 , 75 , 76 , 77 ]; while after 1 h [ 72 , 73 ], 3 h [ 23 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ], and 5 h [ 59 ], all of the studies reported a significant increase compared to baseline levels.…”

“…In all of the 21 studies included, the circulating hepcidin expression was measured in response to endurance exercise. Running was the endurance exercise utilized in the majority of the studies (16 out of 19) [ 23 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 70 , 71 , 74 , 77 ], while cycling [ 23 , 72 , 73 ], rowing [ 75 , 76 ], and athletic walking were used as well [ 61 ]. Continuous and intervallic endurance exercise strategies were carried out, and all of the studies reported a significant upregulation of serum hepcidin, except Kasprovicz et al [ 74 ], where an ultramarathon did not modify hepcidin concentrations in blood during or after the race.…”

“…After an incremental exercise up to exhaustion, plasma hepcidin levels were upregulated in physically active males at 1 h post-exercise [ 73 ], while in national and international athletes, this effect was observed at 3 h post-exercise, but only in the group that was injected with iron [ 65 ]. In response to supramaximal intensity, three consecutive 30 s all-out sprints (Wingate test, 4.5 min recovery) reported a hepcidin elevation at 1 h post-exercise in untrained males and judokas [ 72 ].…”

Increased Hepcidin Levels During a Period of High Training Load Do Not Alter Iron Status in Male Elite Junior Rowers

“…A number of studies have shown that circulating hepcidin levels are transiently upregulated immediately after acute endurance exercise (Robson-Ansley et al, 2011;Antosiewicz et al, 2013;Skarpanska-Stejnborn et al, 2015;Tomczyk et al, 2017) and during the early (3 h) and late (5-6 h) recovery periods (Newlin et al, 2012;Sim et al, 2012Sim et al, , 2013Sim et al, , 2015Badenhorst et al, 2015Badenhorst et al, , 2016Diaz et al, 2015;Dahlquist et al, 2017;Govus et al, 2017). For example, in Polish elite rowers, serum hepcidin, iron and IL-6 levels transiently increased immediately after an exhausting 2000 m rowing ergometer test with complete recovery after 24 h (Skarpanska-Stejnborn et al, 2015).…”