Women’s health is fast becoming one of the biggest food and beverage trends of the decade, with rising demand for products, which support women’s health at all stages of life, leading to a surge in new product development. What’s more, it’s shot the women’s global health industry to a market value of $35.02bn, and that value continues to grow at a CAGR of 3.2%, according to Fortune Business Insights.
Now, research from Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Australia and the Training Research Unit of Excellence in Malawi, looks set to further boost this growing trend, with its focus on the prevention of anaemia in pregnant women.
Maintaining iron levels within the body is important at all stages of life, but is particularly vital during pregnancy, to ensure the health of both mother and baby. Insufficient iron levels can lead to anaemia, which is associated with elevated risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, postpartum depression and post-partum haemorrhage.
Globally, around 37% of pregnant women are anaemic - almost 32 million women at any given time.
“While anaemia is one of the most avoidable causes of illness and death in resource-poor nations, any woman across the world can become anaemic during pregnancy, highlighting how this remains a global priority,” says Professor Sant-Rayn Pasricha, a co-corresponding author on the study.
The research team found that a single third-trimester iron infusion significantly reduces anaemia in pregnant women. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) currently recommends oral iron tablets taken twice daily for pregnant women as the primary prevention strategy for maternal anaemia.
But there is another solution. Foods and beverages, fortified with iron, could help to reduce iron deficiency.
What is the role of iron in the human body?
The body of an adult human contains around four grams (0.005% body weight) of the chemical element, iron. It is contained mostly in hemoglobin and myoglobin. These two proteins play essential roles in the transport of oxygen in the blood, and oxygen storage in muscles.
Iron is also the metal at the active site of many important redox enzymes dealing with cellular respiration and oxidation and reduction in plants and animals.
Humans must consume iron, through diet, to maintain necessary levels.
Will iron deficiency focus fuel fortification trend?
Though the importance of maintaining healthy iron levels has long been established, the spotlight this new research has placed on it could well lead to a rise in consumer demand for foods and beverages fortified with iron. In other words, we could be looking at a flurry of innovation in the fortification space.
Food and beverage manufacturers have already embraced fortification as a fast and effective way to add nutrients to consumer diets, resulting in the value of the fortified food and beverage market reaching a whopping $103.54bn, according to Precedence Research. So, could iron be the next fortification favourite for manufacturers across all sectors of the industry?
The current, and growing, focus on women’s health, combined with the growing understanding of the importance of iron in the diet, would indicate a resounding, yes! Particularly as consumption of one of the main sources of iron – meat – is in decline, with one in four consumers globally looking to cut down on their meat intake, according to Euromonitor International.
Currently the most common products to be fortified with iron are breakfast cereals, but there’s a whole range of foods and beverages, from protein shakes to cereal bars, with iron-fortification potential.
“An increased focus on health and wellbeing is seeing consumers seek out foods whose nutritional value has been boosted by vitamins and minerals,” says a spokesperson for FMCG multinational, Unilever.
What is anaemia?
Anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal. Haemoglobin is needed to carry oxygen and if the blood contains too few, or abnormal, red blood cells, or not enough haemoglobin, there will be a decreased capacity of the blood to carry oxygen to the body’s tissues. Symptoms of anaemia include fatigue, weakness, dizziness and shortness of breath.
The optimal haemoglobin concentration required to meet physiologic needs varies by age, sex, elevation of residence, smoking habits and pregnancy status. Anaemia can be caused by several factors - nutrient deficiencies through inadequate diet or inadequate absorption of nutrients, infections such as malaria, inflammation, chronic diseases, gynaecological and obstetric conditions, and inherited red blood cell disorders.
The most common nutritional cause of anaemia is iron deficiency, although deficiencies in folate, vitamins B12 and A are also important causes.
