Absorption by 1-year-old children of an iron supplement given with cow's milk or juice.
A paucity of data are available on toddlers for the evaluation of optimal strategies of Fe supplementation. In this study, we used a two-tracer stable isotope technique to determine Fe absorption from a 5-mg dose of stable isotopically enriched (57Fe or 58Fe) ferrous sulfate given with cow's milk (CM) compared with the same dose given with apple juice. Ten children (age 13 +/- 1 mo, weight 10.8 +/- 1.1 kg) who had recently discontinued formula feeding and begun on CM were studied. Red blood cell (RBC) iron incorporation of the isotope was determined 14 d after dosing with 57Fe and 58Fe. Fe absorption was calculated based on the assumption that 90% of absorbed Fe is incorporated into RBC. Absorption of Fe was significantly greater (13.7 +/- 6.4%) when given with juice than with milk (5.7 +/- 4.0%), p < 0.01 by paired t tests. Fe absorption from the dose given with juice was significantly negatively correlated with serum ferritin (n = 9, r = -0.70, p < 0.05). These results indicate that 1) a small supplement of Fe is better absorbed when given with juice than with CM, and 2) a large variability in Fe absorption exists in healthy 1-y-old infants, which is related to their existing Fe stores.
Abrams
S A
SA
Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
O'Brien
K O
KO
Wen
J
J
Liang
L K
LK
Stuff
J E
JE
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005296:Ferrous Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*; D005638:Fruit / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008892:Milk / Q000378:metabolism*
D005296:Ferrous Compounds; C020748:ferrous sulfate; D007501:Iron