Consuming an iron-fortified nutrition bar daily for a few months can fight anemia without producing side effects, according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Anemic
women in India who consumed an iron-fortified nutrition bar each day for 90 days
were much more likely to experience increases in hemoglobin and
hematocrit and to be cured of their anemia than women who did not consume
such bars.
Rajvi Mehta, a medical student at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, developed the nutrition bars used in this study, known as GudNesS bars.
The bars are made with iron-rich, natural, local (to India), and culturally accepted ingredients. They contain the World Health Organization’s daily recommended dose of iron.
In 2011, Mehta worked with nutritionists and physicians in India to establish a social venture there called Let’s Be Well Red (LBWR) to begin large-scale production of the bars.
The study, conducted from March to August 2014 in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, India, involved 179 anemic, non-pregnant participants of reproductive age (18-35) at 10 demographically diverse sites.
The sites were randomly placed in either a control group or an intervention group.
Women in the intervention group received 1 iron-fortified nutrition bar (containing 14 mg Fe) daily for 90 days, and women in the control group received nothing. Baseline characteristics were comparable between the groups.
Each group underwent 3 blood tests during the 90-day follow-up period—at 15 days, 45 days, and 90 days—to measure their hemoglobin and hematocrit.
Seventy-six percent of subjects (n=136) completed all follow-up assessments (65 intervention and 71 control subjects).
The primary outcomes were 90-day changes from baseline in hemoglobin concentrations and hematocrit percentages.
The researchers said the mean hemoglobin and hematocrit increases after 90 days were greater for the intervention group than the control group, at 1.4 g/dL and 2.7%, respectively.
And subjects in the intervention group had a much greater decrease in anemia than those in the control group. At 90 days, 29.2% of subjects in the intervention group still had anemia, compared to 98.6% of those in the control group. The odds ratio was 0.007.
The researchers said no side effects were reported.
“We are encouraged by the results of this study, which show a positive connection between consuming an iron-fortified nutrition bar and a reduction in anemia prevalence,” said study author Elizabeth Turner, PhD, of Duke University.
“It appears to be a practical and well-tolerated solution to a significant health challenge in India.”
Let’s Be Well Red is currently operating in 3 locations in India and produces 100,000 bars each year that it distributes throughout the country.
“Anemia is a debilitating condition that can have severe health consequences,” Mehta said. “I am thrilled that my colleagues and I were able to develop a solution that has proven to be effective among a high-risk population. Making an impact in global health has long been a goal of mine.”
