How does Lucky Iron Fish release iron?

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How does Lucky Iron Fish release iron?

When placed into a pot of boiling, acidified water for 10 minutes, this reusable, fish-shaped ingot releases iron into the cooking water. Subsequently, the food absorbs the iron from the iron-enriched water, increasing the overall iron content of the meal.

https://www.joghr.org/article/11950-testing-the-efficacy-of-the-lucky-iron-fish-in-reversing-iron-deficiency-anemia-in-rural-impoverished-regions-of-guatemala

Testing the efficacy of the Lucky Iron Fish® in reversing iron deficiency anemia in rural, impoverished regions of Guatemala |

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the most common nutrient-related cause of anemia is a lack of dietary iron (iron deficiency anemia, IDA). In regions of the world where populations are at greatest risk for IDA, barriers make screening and subsequent treatment challenging. Thus, IDA remains one of the most common, yet treatable, nutrition-related health problems in developing countries. A new approach to IDA remediation, called Lucky Iron Fish® (LIF) (Lucky Iron Fish, Guelph, Canada), overcomes many of these challenges. When placed into a pot of boiling, acidified water for 10 minutes, the LIF releases iron into the cooking water. Subsequently, the food absorbs the iron from the iron-enriched water, increasing the overall iron content of the meal. The purpose of this 52-week longitudinal study, conducted in rural, underserved regions of Guatemala, was to determine whether or not iron status improved after 12 months of using a LIF for meal preparation.




The efficacy of the LIF has already been shown to improve iron status, at least short-term, among those consuming traditional Cambodian diets. In these randomized controlled trials, blood iron levels were higher among those preparing meals with a LIF compared to controls, although it is unclear if these improvements were sustainable over time.6,7 Clearly, studies of longer duration are needed to demonstrate the efficacy of LIF in reversing IDA, as well as assessing the use and success of LIF in other cultures that have dietary patterns that differ from those previously studied.
Therefore, the purpose of this study, conducted in rural, impoverished (7,750 by purchasing power parity; equivalent to 41% of the world’s average) regions of Guatemala, was to distribute LIF to those with impaired iron status to determine whether or not regular use of the LIF resulted in significant improvement in iron status (hemoglobin and hematocrit) after 12 months of use. This study was designed to address the following research questions:

Was there a significant improvement in iron status (hemoglobin and hematocrit) after 12 months of using the LIF on a regular basis?

What was the compliance rate for use of the LIF?