Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #59510
Title: ABSORPTION BY 1-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN OF AN IRON SUPPLEMENT GIVEN WITH COW MILK OR JUICE

Author
item ABRAMS, STEVEN - BAYLOR COLL OF MED
item O'BRIEN, KIMBERLY - BAYLOR COLL OF MED
item WEN, JIANPING - BAYLOR COLL OF MED
item LIANG, LILY - BAYLOR COLL OF MED
item STUFF, JANICE - BAYLOR COLL OF MED

Submitted to: Pediatrics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/25/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: We wanted to find out whether an iron supplement would be better absorbed when taken with juce or cow milk by 1-year-old children. We used a special, safe stable isotope technique in a test with apple juice and milk involving 10 children about a year old, who were recently weaned from formula onto cow milk. We did this because it's important for children to get enough iron after they're weaned from formula or human milk onto cow milk which is low in iron. Two weeks later, we figured out the red blood cell absorption of the isotope. We found that iron absorption was much better when the supplement was given with juice than with milk. The reasons probably are that the absorvic acid in juice enhances iron absorption, while milk's high calcium inhibits it. The stable isotope technique can be further used in iron supplementation studies.

Technical Abstract: Objectives: To compare the effects of cow milk (CM) vs juice on absorption of a 5 mg iron (Fe) supplement in 1-year-old children. Methods: Iron absorption was compared with a 5 mg dose of stable isotopically enriched ferrous sulfate given either with CM or apple juice. Ten children (age 13 +/- 1 months, 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 days after dosing and Fe absorption calculated based on the assumption that 90% of absorbed Fe is incorporated into RBCs. Results: Fe absorption was significantly greater (13.7 +/- 6.4%) when given with juice than when given 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). Conclusions: 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-year-old infants which is related to their existing Fe stores.