An orange-flavored drink that is fortified with 10 vitamins and minerals could help nutritionally deficient children in East Africa and other developing regions live healthier lives.
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, half of 830 elementary school children in Tanzania received the drink for 6 months. The other half received a similar, unfortified drink. The fortified beverage contained iron, zinc, iodine, vitamins A and C, folate, niacin, thiamine, riboflavin, and pyridoxine.
Children with moderately severe anemia who received the drink showed significant improvement in iron status. But many who drank the unfortified version showed a decline in iron status. Eleven percent of children in the study group were still deficient in serum vitamin A levels at the end of the study, compared with 20% of controls.
After 6 months, children who received the fortified drink grew 3.4 cm in height and gained 1.8 kg in weight, compared with . . . [Full Text of this Article]
