Agriculture Report - Special Grain May Reduce Iron Deficiency

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Anemic	For	He	Iron	People	The	a	are	biofortified	called
crop	first	grain	increase	less	low	mineral	of	percent	received
special	the	who

deficiency anemia is the most common nutritional disorder in the world. with the condition do not have enough red blood cells. As name suggests, iron deficiency anemia results from a lack of iron. World Health Organization says half the pregnant women and about 40 of preschool children in developing countries are not getting enough iron. adults cannot work to their full ability. And pregnant women who anemic have a greater risk of problems during childbirth. Michael Hambidge the University of Colorado is an expert on child health issues. says the effects of anemia on children can be permanent. In new study, Dr. Hambidge and others suggest that new kinds of may help reduce iron deficiency. They tested flour made from a kind of pearl milletThe researchers used traditional crop breeding methods to the amount of iron in the pearl millet. The process is biofortification. Researchers in India prepared meals with flour made from the millet. They used the meals to feed 21 children who had iron levels. Then they compared these children to 19 others who similar meals without the biofortified flour. The researchers found that children ate the high-iron millet meals satisfied their daily requirements for the . The other children did not. Experts say millet is a good to reach those in need of iron because it usually costs to grow than other grains. It also requires little rainfall. The high-iron biofortified pearl millet is already on the market in India. VOA Learning English, I'm Carolyn Presutti.

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