Anemia in India solved with iron-fortified bars

Human beings can be mysterious; some want raw milk though it is straight from a bacteria-laden cow udder (if you have ever milked a cow, you know what we are talking about) but is untouched by science, while others swear by supplements.

Both are wrong but on supplements, not in all cases. That is why milk is fortified in America (assuming you got it from a credible source) and fortification also helps in places where they don't drink a lot of milk. Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world and in India it affects more than 600 million people, because of their vegetarian diet. Iron-deficiency anemia can cause fatigue, pregnancy complications and heart problems. Iron supplement pills often have gastrointestinal side effects, so are an undesirable remedy for many people.

A recent study found that an iron supplement bar given to anemic women in and around Mumbai, India, led to increased hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, reducing anemia with no reported side effects. The study, conducted from March-August 2014 in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, India, involved 179 anemic non-pregnant participants of reproductive age in 10 demographically diverse sites. The sites were then randomly placed in either a control group or an intervention group with the latter receiving one iron supplement bar daily for 90 days.

Each group underwent three blood tests during the 90-day follow-up period to measure their hemoglobin and hematocrit. 

Challenges remain. Unlike the U.S., large-scale production and distribution of iron-fortified foods have proven unsustainable in the past.

CITATION: "Efficacy of Iron Supplement Bars to Reduce Anemia in Urban Indian Women: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial," Rajvi Mehta, Alyssa C Platt, Xizi Sun, Mukesh Desai, Dennis Clements, Elizabeth L Turner. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2017. DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.115.127555