Assessing the dietary intake of calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper in institutionalised children and adolescents from Guatemala. Contribution of nutritional supplements

Abstract

In childhood and adolescence an adequate mineral intake is essential for normal growth and immune function, and to prevent chronic diseases in adulthood. The aim of this study was to analyse the dietary intake of Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn and Cu in children and adolescents from an orphanage-school in Guatemala and to assess the mineral contribution of nutritional supplements used by this population. Mineral content was analysed in nutritional supplements, bioaccesible fractions obtained after an in vitro gastrointestinal method, and diets sampled by a 7-day duplicate diet study. The average mineral content in the duplicate diets, including supplements, was (mg/d): Ca 452, Mg 230, Fe 25, Zn 8 and Cu 0.22. Especially Ca and Cu values were below recommended daily intakes. The content of these minerals in the nutritional supplements (mg/serving) was 49-112 for Ca, 1.2-3.8 for Fe, 24-47 for Mg, 0.7-4.16 for Zn and 0.08-0.23 for Cu. A great proportion of dietary minerals was provided by supplements, the contribution of which was: Ca 53.1%, Mg 58.4%, Fe 27.6%. Zn 82.2% and Cu 98.5%. Mineral bioaccessibility in supplements was particularly low for Ca and, to a lesser extent, for Fe and Zn. In spite of the high supplement consumption (up to 4 servings/d) important mineral deficiencies were detected in the diet of institutionalised children. Findings suggest that formulation and nutritional values of supplements used in Latin America should be carefully reviewed, in order to be a useful tool in the prevention and treatment of hidden hunger.

Electrochemical Evaluation of Cd, Cu, and Fe in Different Brands of Craft Beers from Quito, Ecuador

“…From this study, five beers have a concentration above the permissible limits of the food regulation NTE INEN 2262 [33] (0.2 mg L −1 ), so the consumption of these drinks is not accepted. Since iron is an essential element of the human diet, the intake between 10-20 mg day −1 [76,77] is recommended; however, it should not exceed 20 mg day −1 since it can cause damage to health, as stated by Ho Wang (2022) [78].…”

Reliability and validity of the hidden hunger assessment scale for Chinese high school students

“…Currently, methods of combating hidden hunger included optimized food system strategies, biofortification, food-to-food fortification, knowledge intervention, micronutrient replacement, and nutritional supplements [37][38][39][40][41][42]. However, although positive policies have been introduced and a decreasing trend has appeared, hidden hunger is still a major public health problem across the world [3,13,[43][44][45].…”

“…Previous studies have revealed a positive correlation between dietary diversity and micronutrient adequacy, and dietary diversity indicators including dietary diversity scores (DDS) and food insecurity (FI) assessment tools including household food security survey (HFSS) have been used for screening hidden hunger [48][49][50]. However, the possible impact of bioaccessibility also needs to be considered in the assessment, which seems to be neglected in previous research [42]. The bioaccessibility of a compound is its ability to be absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract after it has been released from its matrix [51].…”

Changes in Haematological Parameters Following Toxicity Study with 80% Methanol Extract of <i>Moringa oleifera</i> in Wistar Rats

“…Moreover, leaf contains trace elements that are essential to human health. For instance, magnesium, iron, selenium, and zinc play an important role in metabolism, and interest in these elements is increasing together with reports relating trace element status and oxidative diseases [45,46]. Despite all the benefit of these biochemical constituents, it also caused allowed of side effect especially in blood tissues.…”