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Drinking Water as Iron Carrier for the Prevention of Iron Deficiency Anemia: The Brazilian Experience
Author(s) -
José Eduardo Dutra-de-Oliveira,
Júlio Sérgio Marchini,
Joel Alves Lamounier,
Carlos Alberto NogueiradeAlmeida
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of water resource and protection
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1945-3108
pISSN - 1945-3094
DOI - 10.4236/jwarp.2013.59086
Subject(s) - fortification , anemia , environmental health , iron deficiency anemia , food fortification , public health , iron deficiency , medicine , environmental protection , business , geography , population , food science , chemistry , nursing

On a global base, estimated 2 billion people are iron deficient and/or anemic with small children and child bearing age most likely to be the ones affected. These high levels of world anemia prevalence have been maintained and even growing in spite of the global and national food fortification programmes carried out in several places. These have been based on the iron fortification of local foods. In Brazil a wheat flour iron fortification program has been going on for several years and the anemia prevalence has been going on as a still large public health problem. We started since the nineties and in several under five day care centers, in various part of Brazil a new program using drinking water as the iron carrier for the prevention of iron deficiency anemia. It was shown through several studies in different places in Brazil that drinking water being available everywhere, daily consumed by everyone, children, adults and old people have shown to be effective for the prevention of iron anemia. Iron salts are low-priced, water soluble, effective, easily and locally prepared, should be known and accepted as a rational, practical and effective locally community preventive solution for iron anemia, still a great problem of our developing and underdeveloped countries of the world.

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