Ferrous gluconate in fortified milk and anemia in Mexican toddlers
What it found
Adding ferrous gluconate to cow's milk cut the rate of anemia from 41.4% to 12.1% in young children over six months.
This was seen in a trial of 115 toddlers in Mexico.
What they found
Studies in people
Anemia rates dropped sharply
In the group drinking fortified milk, the share of children with anemia fell from 41.4% to 12.1%. The group drinking plain milk saw no real change, staying around 30% to 24%.
Blood iron levels rose
Children who drank the fortified milk had higher hemoglobin after six months. Their average level went from 118.3 g/L to 127.4 g/L. The plain milk group stayed at about 124 g/L.
Fewer children lacked iron
The share of children with low stored iron fell from 66.7% to 28.3% in the fortified milk group. A second blood marker showed iron shortage dropping from 54.2% to 28.2% in that same group.
Zinc levels stayed similar
Both groups ended up with about the same amount of zinc in their blood after six months. The fortified milk also contained added zinc oxide.
Other findings
Why ferrous gluconate was chosen
Milk makers found that ferrous gluconate changed the taste and look of milk less than other iron forms did. Earlier work in rats and people suggested it is taken in by the body just as well as those other forms.
What the authors conclude
- They conclude that adding ferrous gluconate and vitamin C to whole cow's milk effectively lowers anemia and improves iron levels in young children.
- Their results led the Mexican government to expand its subsidized fortified milk program to 4.2 million children aged 1 to 11 years.
How it was done
Iron deficiency anemia is common in young Mexican children, affecting nearly half of infants aged 12 to 23 months. The government wanted to test if adding iron to subsidized milk could help reduce this problem.
Researchers randomly assigned 115 healthy children aged 10 to 30 months to drink 400 mL of cow's milk daily for six months. One group received milk fortified with 5.8 mg of iron as ferrous gluconate plus zinc and vitamin C. The other group drank unfortified milk. Field workers visited homes twice a day to check how much milk each child drank.
What it can’t tell you
- This trial tested ferrous gluconate mixed with zinc and vitamin C, so it cannot show what ferrous gluconate would do on its own.
- The study lasted only six months, so it cannot show whether these benefits last longer or affect later health.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica, México
The paper
- Title
- Fortifying milk with ferrous gluconate and zinc oxide in a public nutrition program reduced the prevalence of anemia in toddlers
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Villalpando S, Shamah T, Rivera JA, Lara Y, Monterrubio E (2006). Fortifying milk with ferrous gluconate and zinc oxide in a public nutrition program reduced the prevalence of anemia in toddlers. The Journal of nutrition. doi:10.1093/jn/136.10.2633Free full textPubMed 16988138DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error