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Abstract
Background: Food fortification is the best long-term approach for reducing the incidence of iron deficiency. Objective: To determine iron absorption from NaFeEDTA-fortified oat beverages without and with vitamin C. Materials and methods: Iron absorption in 19 apparently healthy 6-year-old children was studied. Two oat beverages fortified with iron (labeled with stable isotopes of NaFeEDTA), zinc, and vitamin A, without and with vitamin C was consumed in two consecutive days in random order. Blood samples were taken 14 days later for stable isotope measurements. Results: The mean fractional iron absorption from the fortified oat beverage without vitamin C (5.65 ± 0.54%) was significantly lower than that from the beverage with vitamin C (7.14 ± 0.90%; p < 0.05). Conclusion: Fortified oat beverages may offer a convenient and effective mechanism to improve the iron status of children. The addition of vitamin C improved iron absorption by an additional 1.5%.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Nutrient Availability Section (NAS) Staff, FNRI-DOST for their technical assistance.