As usual, balance is what is needed, enough but not too much.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/11/111108094429.htm
ScienceDaily (Nov. 8, 2011) — A long-term study examining iron-fortified vs. low-iron infant formula suggests that infants with high hemoglobin levels who received iron fortified infant formula have poorer long-term developmental outcomes.
The study, conducted in Santiago, Chile, was published online ahead of print in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, and raises questions about the optimal amount of iron in infant formula.
"The high prevalence of iron deficiency in infancy has led to routine iron fortification of infant formula and foods in many countries," says lead study author Betsy Lozoff, M.D., a behavioral pediatrician at the University of Michigan Health System and research professor at the University of Michigan Center for Human Growth and Development.
"These interventions help reduce iron-deficiency anemia and iron deficiency without anemia. However, the optimal amount of iron in such products, especially infant formula, is debated," she says.
Iron deficiency affects roughly 25 percent of the world's babies. Some have iron deficiency anemia, in which a lack of iron causes problems with hemoglobin -- the compound that red blood cells use to transport oxygen through the bloodstream.
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The 10-year assessment included 473 children and researchers measured IQ, spatial memory, arithmetic achievement, visual-motor integration, visual perception and motor functioning.
Compared to the low-iron group, the iron-fortified group scored lower on every 10-year outcome measured.
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Less than 10 percent of infants in the iron-fortified group met criteria for iron deficiency.
The authors also found that children with the highest hemoglobin levels at 6 months of age had lower 10-year scores if they had received the iron-fortified formula, but those with the lowest 6-month hemoglobin levels had higher scores.
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