Abstract
Since 1976 many baby foods have been reformulated and the iron used to fortify infant cereals has been changed to a more bioavailable form. Therefore, the dietary intake of iron by infants from 1 to 18 months of age was assessed in a longitudinal survey conducted in Toronto and Montreal between 1977 and 1979. Except in the 1st and 18th months the mean daily iron consumption of the infants was above that recommended in the Dietary Standard for Canada. The main source of this nutrient was infant cereals. Examination of the diets of the infants who did not have the recommended daily intake of iron showed that they did not consume sufficient amounts of infant cereals and other iron-rich foods. These results indicate that without such cereals it is difficult to provide infants with the amount of iron they need. Therefore, infants should receive these cereals during the first 2 years of life.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Oski F. A. Nutritional anemias. Semin Perinatol. 1979 Oct;3(4):381–395. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rios E., Hunter R. E., Cook J. D., Smith N. J., Finch C. A. The absorption of iron as supplements in infant cereal and infant formulas. Pediatrics. 1975 May;55(5):686–693. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Swiss L. D., Beaton G. H. A prediction of the effects of iron fortification. Am J Clin Nutr. 1974 Apr;27(4):373–379. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/27.4.373. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]