title: Dietary strategies for improving iron status: balancing safety and efficacy.
abstract: In light of evidence that high-dose iron supplements lead to a range of adverse events in low-income settings, the safety and efficacy of lower doses of iron provided through biological or industrial fortification of foodstuffs is reviewed. First, strategies for point-of-manufacture chemical fortification are compared with biofortification achieved through plant breeding. Recent insights into the mechanisms of human iron absorption and regulation, the mechanisms by which iron can promote malaria and bacterial infections, and the role of iron in modifying the gut microbiota are summarized. There is strong evidence that supplemental iron given in nonphysiological amounts can increase the risk of bacterial and protozoal infections (especially malaria), but the use of lower quantities of iron provided within a food matrix, ie, fortified food, should be safer in most cases and represents a more logical strategy for a sustained reduction of the risk of deficiency by providing the best balance of risk and benefits. Further research into iron compounds that would minimize the availability of unabsorbed iron to the gut microbiota is warranted.
authors.affiliation: A.M. Prentice, D. Pereira, C. Cerami, and R. Wegmuller are with the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit The Gambia, Fajara, Banjul, The Gambia. A.M. Prentice and R. Wegmuller are with the MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. Y.A. Mendoza, A. Constable, and J. Spieldenner are with the Nestlé Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland. D. Pereira is with the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. C. Cerami is with the Division of Infectious Diseases, Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. aprentice@mrc.gm.
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Prentice
authors.affiliation: A.M. Prentice, D. Pereira, C. Cerami, and R. Wegmuller are with the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit The Gambia, Fajara, Banjul, The Gambia. A.M. Prentice and R. Wegmuller are with the MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. Y.A. Mendoza, A. Constable, and J. Spieldenner are with the Nestlé Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland. D. Pereira is with the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. C. Cerami is with the Division of Infectious Diseases, Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Yery A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Mendoza
authors.affiliation: A.M. Prentice, D. Pereira, C. Cerami, and R. Wegmuller are with the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit The Gambia, Fajara, Banjul, The Gambia. A.M. Prentice and R. Wegmuller are with the MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. Y.A. Mendoza, A. Constable, and J. Spieldenner are with the Nestlé Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland. D. Pereira is with the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. C. Cerami is with the Division of Infectious Diseases, Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Dora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: A.M. Prentice, D. Pereira, C. Cerami, and R. Wegmuller are with the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit The Gambia, Fajara, Banjul, The Gambia. A.M. Prentice and R. Wegmuller are with the MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. Y.A. Mendoza, A. Constable, and J. Spieldenner are with the Nestlé Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland. D. Pereira is with the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. C. Cerami is with the Division of Infectious Diseases, Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cerami
authors.affiliation: A.M. Prentice, D. Pereira, C. Cerami, and R. Wegmuller are with the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit The Gambia, Fajara, Banjul, The Gambia. A.M. Prentice and R. Wegmuller are with the MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. Y.A. Mendoza, A. Constable, and J. Spieldenner are with the Nestlé Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland. D. Pereira is with the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. C. Cerami is with the Division of Infectious Diseases, Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wegmuller
authors.affiliation: A.M. Prentice, D. Pereira, C. Cerami, and R. Wegmuller are with the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit The Gambia, Fajara, Banjul, The Gambia. A.M. Prentice and R. Wegmuller are with the MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. Y.A. Mendoza, A. Constable, and J. Spieldenner are with the Nestlé Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland. D. Pereira is with the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. C. Cerami is with the Division of Infectious Diseases, Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Constable
authors.affiliation: A.M. Prentice, D. Pereira, C. Cerami, and R. Wegmuller are with the Medical Research Council (MRC) Unit The Gambia, Fajara, Banjul, The Gambia. A.M. Prentice and R. Wegmuller are with the MRC International Nutrition Group, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom. Y.A. Mendoza, A. Constable, and J. Spieldenner are with the Nestlé Research Centre, Lausanne, Switzerland. D. Pereira is with the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom. C. Cerami is with the Division of Infectious Diseases, Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spieldenner
mesh_terms: D018798:Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000072759:Biofortification; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005527:Food, Fortified; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D064451:Hepcidins / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D019266:Iron, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008288:Malaria / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control; D009752:Nutritional Status; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D064451:Hepcidins; D019266:Iron, Dietary
keywords: food fortification; iron; safety; staple foods; supplementation.