Supplementing on iron biscuits ends up feeding the wrong kids

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Transcript of “Why supplementing with iron when you’re not deficient, is a bad idea”

iron supplementing creating havoc in gut

You only absorb the iron that YOU NEED. So, extra iron heads down south and the gut residents, get to feast on the leftovers. And feast they do…

Nutrition for your growing little one is important. It is imperative little ones get all the nutrients they need, to grow up big and strong.

No Mom wants to short change junior.

So……….we take out a little security.

Choosing products with EXTRA vitamins and things and put junior on a good multivitamin.

So……….we take out a little security.

Choosing products with EXTRA vitamins and things and put junior on a good multivitamin.

Better to be safe than sorry !

Mmmmm…..

Yes, but – getting extra is not always a good thing, even when it seems like a good idea. This is what a team of Swiss researchers based at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich discovered, when they gave African kids, iron supplements.

Iron is essential

One of the nutrients, Mom’s worry about……….. is iron. It is essential. Shortages happen, often, especially in poor neighbourhoods. Iron shortages lead to iron deficiency anaemia and in little one’s, this stunts brain development.

Getting enough is critical.

So it’s added

to flour (or rice)
to baby formula,
to breakfast cereals
to speciality foods e.g. biscuits, juice
to multi-vitamins

And, if that’s not enough, you can purchase iron supplements directly.

As I said, it’s important…………

The biscuit study

Mindful of it’s importance, the Swiss team set out to study the benefits of giving kids, growing up in rural Co^te d’Ivoire, extra iron.

The iron was baked into tasty biscuits.

Kids, enrolled in the study, were between the ages of 6 – 14 years and perfectly healthy.

Well, except for a few intestinal worms. Welcome to Africa !

In total, 139 children took part in the biscuit study. Each child received 2 Swiss baked biscuits, 4 times/week for 6 months.

70 kids got biscuits with added iron (20 mg/day)
69 kids just got biscuits

Improved iron status

Now by definition, a rural village in Africa, is a “poor” neighbourhood. But, these kids were getting it in their normal diet, so iron deficiency was pretty rare.

85 % of the kids, were considered to be iron sufficient.

So, the iron in the biscuits, was EXTRA.

The kids eating the special biscuits, were getting 60-70 % more iron.

But, the absorption of iron is tightly regulated.

You only absorb what you need…..

Iron status took a dive

Ironically, during the study period, the iron status of the kids decreased………….for ALL the kids.

Times were tough. The region experienced food shortages. Welcome to Africa.

The fortified biscuits made very little difference.

Worm counts went up.
Iron levels went down.
And the incidence of anaemia went up.

Oh well, you win some, you lose some…… extra iron is still a good investment, right ?

You lose some…..

In addition to keeping tabs on the iron status of the kids, the team was also keeping tabs on gut residents.

You see…………..

A good deal of the extra iron, in those special biscuits, is expected to end up in the colon.

Remember, you only absorb what YOU NEED.

So, all the extra heads down south and the gut residents, get to feast on the leftovers. And since, just like we need iron to function, so do gut bacteria, especially the bad guys.

The team found, kids eating the iron supplemented biscuits, lost a few million Lactobacilli bacteria, replacing them with bacteria from the Enterobacteria tribe.

It makes sense….

Fighting for iron

The Lactobacilli tribe are not iron lovers – they can live without it.

Under normal circumstances, iron supplies in the gut are low. This effectively puts the breaks on the growth of bacteria that LOVE iron, stopping their rampant multiplication, while allowing iron neutral bacteria , like the Lactobacilli, to thrive.

Iron supplements change the dynamic. Iron guzzlers, “take over”.

Members of the Enterobacteria clan, include some standard gut residents, such as E.coli, and some decidedly nasty characters, such as Salmonella and Shigella.

More “nasties” in the gut………….

More inflammation

The team found, the kids consuming the iron fortified biscuits, had significantly higher levels of a calprotectin, in their poop.

Now calprotectin, is a protein associated with activated immune cells.

So, more calprotectin in the gut, is indicative of more inflammation. And inflammation is seldom a good thing.

Oops !

The extra iron is not just passing through…………..

Gut residents determine your health

It’s changing who is who, in your gut zoo. And who is / isn’t there, impacts your health, your bugs….

You want to cultivate the “right” gut microflora………….

Deliberately adding more iron than you need, is not a health move. We already know, in adults, it puts you at risk from heart disease, cancer etc. and extra iron in kids, slows cognitive development.

Don’t let the marketing fool you, you only need iron supplementation if you are iron deficient.

The effects of iron fortification on the gut microbiota in African children: a randomized controlled trial in Coˆ te d’Ivoire. Am J Clin Nutr (2010) 92:1406–15. Michael B Zimmermann, Christophe Chassard, Fabian Rohner, Elie´zer K N’Goran, Charlemagne Nindjin, Alexandra Dostal, Ju¨rg Utzinger, Hala Ghattas, Christophe Lacroix, and Richard F Hurrell.