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Iron in food and its availability.

S J Fairweather-Tait1

  • 1AFRC Institute of Food Research, Norwich, UK.

Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica. Supplement
|January 1, 1989
PubMed
Summary

Infant iron stores deplete by 6 months, necessitating iron-rich weaning foods. Breast milk or iron-fortified formula until age one supports adequate iron status, especially with low-iron diets.

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Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Nutrition
  • Human Physiology

Background:

  • Infants exclusively breastfed or fed unfortified formula risk iron depletion by 6 months.
  • Iron is crucial for infant development, with high requirements during the first year.
  • Dietary iron absorption is influenced by various food components.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight the critical role of iron in infant nutrition.
  • To discuss factors affecting iron absorption in infants.
  • To emphasize the importance of appropriate weaning foods for maintaining iron status.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on infant iron metabolism and nutrition.
  • Analysis of dietary factors influencing iron bioavailability.
  • Discussion of infant feeding practices and their impact on iron stores.

Main Results:

  • Breast milk and iron-fortified formulas are essential for maintaining infant iron status up to one year.
  • Ascorbic acid and heme iron enhance inorganic iron absorption.
  • Many unfortified infant foods, like vegetable and cereal meals, offer poorly absorbed iron.

Conclusions:

  • Careful selection of weaning foods is critical to prevent iron deficiency in infants.
  • Combining low-iron foods with ascorbic acid-rich sources can improve iron absorption.
  • Advances in stable isotope methods will aid further research into infant iron absorption.

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