There are two types of iron found in food, heme and non-heme, Heme iron is more easily absorbed by your body than non-heme iron. About 40 percent of the iron in meat, poultry and fish is heme iron, while the iron in dairy, eggs and plant foods is largely non-heme.

Iron is nature's rusting agent, and excess levels of iron in our bodies is one of the most potent ways that our body becomes oxidized, prematurely aged and, as stated in the article, may face an increased risk of diabetes.

Iron creates a dilemma in that iron deficiency is the most common single-nutrient deficiency disease in the world and is a major concern for approximately 15 percent of the world's population. Iron is also a major nutrient needed by most children and menstruating women.

However, most men have a problem with too much iron because iron is not readily excreted through the body's usual excretory routes of urine, bile and sweat; rather, the primary way in which iron is lost is through the shedding of cells from the skin or gastrointestinal tract or through blood loss, as in menstrual blood loss or chronic or acute hemorrhage.

I believe measuring iron levels is a very important part of optimizing your health. As shown in the study above, 38,394 men didn't have any signs of type 2 diabetes in the beginning of the study, however just 12 years later 1,168 new cases showed up.

Diabetes is not something to play around with. It is a devastating illness that will gradually suck the life out of you and contribute to a life full of miserable health complications.

Fortunately, there are great "drugs" that can reverse and "cure" diabetes. They are exercise and diet. I recently reviewed the exercise requirements to control diabetes. The key to the dietary aspect is avoiding foods that increase insulin, namely grains and sugars.

As I discuss in Total Health Program, eliminating grains and sugars is key not only to avoiding diabetes, but also to avoiding a number of other chronic illnesses.

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