Iron as a Smart Nutrient - Pink of Health
Iron as a Smart Nutrient
Iron as a Smart Nutrient

Importance of Iron

Certain nutrients have greater effect on brain development than others. One such key nutrient is Iron.  Iron is an essential micronutrient and has a strategic role to play in developing the human brain. Iron levels in brain tissue increase during the development stage and are correlated with mental abilities, according to research findings in children and young adults.

Thus, iron is a nutrient that is important in children not only for their physical but also for the mental growth and development.

IDA impact on the quality of life

Iron deficiency in the first 2 years of life harms the child’s long-term development (possibly irreversible), even if the iron deficiency has been corrected. 


IDA, and even iron deficiency without significant anaemia, affects attention span, alertness and learning in both infants and adolescents. It leads to serious health problems such as poor mental (includes attention, memory, thinking, learning, and perception) and physical development and behavioural problems in children. These problems may be long term or even irreversible. Thus, iron deficiency or IDA is associated with poor performance in neonates, low scores in brain function tests in preschool children, and low learning achievement in school.

References
  • McCarthy, E., Murray, D., & Kiely, M. Iron deficiency during the first 1000 days of life: Are we doing enough to protect the developing brain? Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2022, 81(1), 108-118. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The article has been taken from the (Proceedings of the Nutrition Society), and the content has been modified for its use on the platform. This is attributed to Elaine K. McCarthy, Deirdre M. Murray, Mairead E. Kiely, and the original version can be found in the link below https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/iron-deficiency-during-the-first-1000-days-of-life-are-we-doing-enough-to-protect-the-developing-brain/AE766176048B398D618D01898BB2E5A4 , Iron deficiency during the first 1000 days of life: Are we doing enough to protect the developing brain? Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 2022, 81(1), 108-118.
  • Santokh I et al. Iron deficiency anemia among hospitalized children in a rural teaching hospital: a cross sectional study. International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics. 2018;5(4):1631-1636. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) License. The article has been taken from the International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics (IJCP), and the content has been modified for its use on the platform. This is attributed to Inderpreet Santokh, Bablu Kumar Gaur, Raghvendra Narayan, Baljeet Maini, A. K. Bharadwaj, and the original version can be found in the link below https://www.ijpediatrics.com/index.php/ijcp/article/view/1726 . Iron deficiency anemia among hospitalized children in a rural teaching hospital: a cross sectional study. International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics. 2018;5(4):1631-1636
  • Briguglio M et al. The Central Role of Iron in Human Nutrition: From Folk to Contemporary Medicine. Nutrients. 2020; 12(6):1761. This article is distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The article has been taken from the (Nutrients), and the content has been modified for its use on the platform. This is attributed Matteo Briguglio, Silvana Hrelia, Marco Malaguti, Giovanni Lombardi, Patrizia Riso, Marisa Porrini, Paolo Perazzo, Giuseppe Banfi, and the original version can be found in the link below https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/6/1761 . The Central Role of Iron in Human Nutrition: From Folk to Contemporary Medicine. Nutrients. 2020; 12(6):1761.

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