The guidelines is given below, and there are three article about nutrition, you are required to use AMA style, follow the guidelines strictly,

NitN: Sample Final Paper NUT11

Word count: 792

Anemic? An Iron Fish Might Be What All You Need

Approximately 30% of the world’s population suffers from anemia.1 Anemia is a condition

where the body does not have enough of the protein called hemoglobin,2 which is the part of red

blood cells that carries oxygen to the tissues in our body.1 As a result, individuals with anemia often

experience tiredness, headaches, decreased cognitive abilities, impaired immunity, and poor

pregnancy outcomes.2 Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anemia1—referred to as iron-

deficiency anemia (IDA)—and most commonly affects women and children.2 Typically anemia is

treated with iron tablets; however, getting tablets to poor and remote villages is difficult and costs

money. Furthermore, many women find that they feel nauseated when taking iron pills, which may

discourage them from taking the supplement.

Almost 50% of the women in rural Cambodian villages experience anemia, but treatment

with iron supplements was unsuccessful.1 In the 1980s, researchers showed that cooking in iron pots

would increase the amount of iron in the food that was consumed,2 which could help prevent IDA.

As reported in the news recently, a Canadian scientist had the idea to use a lump of iron in place of

iron cookware. After many iterations of the iron-ingot, scientists finally settled on the shape of a fish

because it is a symbol of luck in Cambodian culture, and the Lucky Iron Fish project was born.1

They claim that the Lucky Iron Fish can be used to treat anemia in these Cambodian villages. When

the ingot is boiled in water or soup for at least 10 minutes some iron leaches into the liquid. Then the

iron fish is removed and lemon juice is to the food to help the body absorb the iron when the food is

consumed. They claim that using the Lucky Iron Fish every day would provide enough iron to meet

75% of the iron that a woman should consume. The news reports that several hundred Cambodian

NitN: Sample Final Paper NUT11

women tested the ingot for a year, and at the end half of the women who used the ingot weren’t

anemic anymore. They further claim that the ingot is better than supplements.

In the original research that tested the effectiveness of the Lucky Iron Fish, the researchers

actually had three different groups for their year-long study: iron-ingot, iron-ingot with basic

nutrition education, or a control that received neither.2 Ultimately, the researchers grouped both of

the iron-ingot groups together because they found that the nutrition lessons didn’t have an effect,

likely because the women that received the nutrition education couldn’t afford to purchase the foods

that the lessons encouraged them to eat. One critical piece of information that the news failed to

mention is that the women needed to add an acidifier, such as a teaspoon of citrus juice, while

boiling the ingot in plain water in order for water to make the ingot leach iron. Many Cambodian

soups contain acidic fruits, so additional juice isn’t needed in this case. Even though the Lucky Iron

Fish was tested in a smaller group that the news article reported, it actually seems to work better than

the news suggested. In the control group, the prevalence of anemia and IDA, which was measured

using blood tests, remained similar from the start to the end of the study. In the groups that received

the iron-ingot, the prevalence of anemia dropped from 57% to 11% and the prevalence of IDA

dropped from 13% to 2%. The original study didn’t directly compare to supplements, so we don’t

know if the iron-ingot works better than supplements for alleviating deficiency. Nevertheless, the

researchers didn’t notice any negative side effects, which is a benefit over supplements.

The prevalence of anemia in women in developing nations ranges from 11% in Nicaragua to

50% in Côte d’Ivoire.3 However, anemia can also be caused by other micronutrient deficiencies,

such as vitamins A and B12 or folate, repeated infections, or malaria.1 Additionally, the

inflammation that results from infection inhibits the absorption of iron,3 which may increase iron

requirements of individuals living in regions with a high burden of infection. Thus, before deciding

NitN: Sample Final Paper NUT11

whether to use the Lucky Iron Fish, health officials need to consider both the amount of anemia that

can be attributed to iron deficiency and the level of exposure to inflammation in a given region. In

countries with a high prevalence of IDA and low to moderate infection rates, the Lucky Iron Fish

could be a cost effective and successful method of treating IDA. However, the Iron Fish may not be

as effective in countries with high infection rates or multiple micronutrient deficiencies. In my

opinion, the news reporter could have added a bit more about the limitations of the Lucky Iron Fish;

however, the rest of the information provided in the news article was accurate.

References

1. Roxby P. Why an iron fish can make you stronger. BBC News.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-32749629. Published May 17, 2015. Accessed July 29,

2017.

2. Charles CV, Dewey CE, Hall A, Hak C, Channary S, Summerlee AJS. A Randomized

Control Trial Using a Fish-Shaped Iron Ingot for the Amelioration of Iron Deficiency

Anemia in Rural Cambodian Women. Tropical Medicine & Surgery. 2015; 3(3): 195. DOI:

10.4172/2329-9088.1000195.

3. Petry N, Olofin I, Hurrell RF, et al. The Proportion of Anemia Associated with Iron

Deficiency in Low, Medium, and High Human Development Index Countries: A Systematic

Analysis of National Surveys. Nutrients. 2016; 8: 693. DOI: 10.3390/nu8110693.