Millions of people in some of the poorest regions in the world are exposed to high levels of arsenic through drinking contaminated water. Many of the people affected also fast for one month of the year during Ramadan, when they don't drink or eat during daylight hours. But the effect of fasting on arsenic metabolism has remained unknown until now.
Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water is known to cause cancer of the skin, lungs, bladder and kidneys as well as causing changes to the skin such as pigmentation and thickening. The development of cancer caused by arsenic exposure is believed to be dependant on dietary and nutritional factors, which can affect arsenic metabolism.
Parvez Haris at De Montfort University in Leicester and colleagues studied the effect of fasting on how arsenic is excreted in urine. The researchers used a group of volunteers in the UK who were fasting for Ramadan. The subjects were not exposed to contaminated water, but arsenic was present at a natural background level. The volunteers provided urine samples first thing in the morning, at the beginning of their fast, and again at sunset when fasting ends.
Fasting is observed between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan
The researchers analysed the samples using a mass spectrometry technique and found that the total level of arsenic at the beginning and end of fasting did not change significantly. However, one particularly toxic arsenic species, methylarsonate, was found more frequently in the evening samples than the morning ones.
Haris suggests that the results show that fasting changes how the body metabolises arsenic, favouring the removal of the most toxic arsenic species present.
Haris hopes to explore how fasting influences arsenic metabolism in people who are exposed to high levels of arsenic in countries such as Bangladesh and India. (Nicola Burton)
Bisa jadi puasa ramadhan ini bisa membantu mengeluarkan lebih banyak kadar arsen yang terakumulasi di tubuh bagi yang berpuasa ketimbang tidak berpuasa, dilihat dari kadar toksin arsen yang lebih banyak pada urin orang yang puasa ramadhan.
Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water is known to cause cancer of the skin, lungs, bladder and kidneys as well as causing changes to the skin such as pigmentation and thickening. The development of cancer caused by arsenic exposure is believed to be dependant on dietary and nutritional factors, which can affect arsenic metabolism.
Parvez Haris at De Montfort University in Leicester and colleagues studied the effect of fasting on how arsenic is excreted in urine. The researchers used a group of volunteers in the UK who were fasting for Ramadan. The subjects were not exposed to contaminated water, but arsenic was present at a natural background level. The volunteers provided urine samples first thing in the morning, at the beginning of their fast, and again at sunset when fasting ends.
Fasting is observed between sunrise and sunset during Ramadan
The researchers analysed the samples using a mass spectrometry technique and found that the total level of arsenic at the beginning and end of fasting did not change significantly. However, one particularly toxic arsenic species, methylarsonate, was found more frequently in the evening samples than the morning ones.
Haris suggests that the results show that fasting changes how the body metabolises arsenic, favouring the removal of the most toxic arsenic species present.
Haris hopes to explore how fasting influences arsenic metabolism in people who are exposed to high levels of arsenic in countries such as Bangladesh and India. (Nicola Burton)
Bisa jadi puasa ramadhan ini bisa membantu mengeluarkan lebih banyak kadar arsen yang terakumulasi di tubuh bagi yang berpuasa ketimbang tidak berpuasa, dilihat dari kadar toksin arsen yang lebih banyak pada urin orang yang puasa ramadhan.
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