Fortifying beverages with a pre-measured combination of vitamins and minerals could be an effective tool for preventing micronutrient deficiencies that undermine the health and development of the world's poorest children.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates that nearly 250 million pre-school children in developing countries are at risk for Vitamin A deficiency, a condition that steals the eyesight of up to 500,000 children each year. In addition, iron and/or zinc deficiencies are estimated to affect more than half of the world's impoverished children, impairing their motor development, coordination, language development and scholastic achievement, and causing lack of concentration and extreme fatigue. In industrialized countries, an estimated 17 percent of pre-school children are affected by iron-deficiency anemia.

With the goal of developing a simple but effective method for delivering the vitamins and minerals that growing children need, scientists working with The Beverage Institute For Health and Wellness helped formulate a water-soluble bundle of 12 essential vitamins and minerals that can be added to beverages. Clinical tests conducted by Baylor College of Medicine researchers in Botswana and Peru showed that daily consumption of such a beverage could effectively help meet an undernourished child's daily micronutrient needs. In the Botswana study, malnourished children who consumed the beverage once a day showed significantly positive changes in nutritional status, including iron status and weight for age.^1,2

1. Abrams SA, Mushi A, Hilmers DC, Griffin IJ, Davila P, Allen L. A multinutrient-fortified beverage enhances the nutritional status of children in Botswana. J Nutr. 2003 Jun;133(6):1834-40.
2. Avalos Mishaan AM, Zavaleta N, Griffin IJ, Hilmers DC, Hawthorne KM, Abrams SA. Bioavailability of iron and zinc from a multiple micronutrient-fortified beverage. J Pediatr. 2004 Jul;145(1):26-31.