Can Riboflavin Prevent Anaemia?
Iron deficiency or anaemia, is a common problem, it affects close to 20% of women in USA. This poses the question, why are so many people not getting enough iron from the foods they eat? And a newly published study reveals how important riboflavin, or vitamin B2 as its also called, is in the way we absorb iron in our body.
Taking a closer look at riboflavin
Researchers wanted to investigate possiblity that a deficiency in riboflavin could have an impact on the body's ability to absorb and use iron, and also uncover the relationship between the iron and riboflavin.
The researchers created the study having selected 123 women between the ages of 19 to 25 years old, who had each been screened and tested positive for riboflavin deficiency. The subjects in the group were randomly assigned a supplement of either 2mg riboflavin, 4 mg riboflavin, or a placebo, which they would take each day for 8 weeks.
Importantly, their iron intake remained unchanged during the course of the study.
At the start of the study and then at after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of having taken either the riboflavin supplement or the placebo, each of the subjects had blood samples taken. These samples were used to measure the levels of both riboflavin and haemoglobin, which is a marker of anaemia.
The scientists found that:
1. Those women that had been taking riboflavin supplements, and who were deficient in it at the start of the study showed significant improvements in their riboflavin levels.
2. When compared to the placebo group, the women taking 2mg showed increases in their riboflavin levels, and women taking 4mg showed an even bigger increase.
3. Interestingly, for the group of women taking riboflavin, were found to have an increase in their haemoglobin levels. Haemoglobin levels correspond to the amount of iron there is the in body, the result indicates that riboflavin helps increase iron levels.
4. The women that had the bigger increases in the levels of riboflavin, were also associated with bigger increases in haemoglobin levels.
5. From the women in the riboflavin supplements group, the ones that began the study with the lowest levels of riboflavin, were also the ones that showed the highest increases in the levels of haemoglobin.
Getting enough Riboflavin
These results appear to show that even in a group of healthy people, it common to be deficient in riboflavin, and if your not taking enough riboflavin, simply by increasing the amount you take, could cut the risk of anaemia.
You can find riboflavin in a natural source in many foods. Super foods are rich in them, including wheatgrass, maca, bee pollen and spirulina.
Taking a closer look at riboflavin
Researchers wanted to investigate possiblity that a deficiency in riboflavin could have an impact on the body's ability to absorb and use iron, and also uncover the relationship between the iron and riboflavin.
The researchers created the study having selected 123 women between the ages of 19 to 25 years old, who had each been screened and tested positive for riboflavin deficiency. The subjects in the group were randomly assigned a supplement of either 2mg riboflavin, 4 mg riboflavin, or a placebo, which they would take each day for 8 weeks.
Importantly, their iron intake remained unchanged during the course of the study.
At the start of the study and then at after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of having taken either the riboflavin supplement or the placebo, each of the subjects had blood samples taken. These samples were used to measure the levels of both riboflavin and haemoglobin, which is a marker of anaemia.
The scientists found that:
1. Those women that had been taking riboflavin supplements, and who were deficient in it at the start of the study showed significant improvements in their riboflavin levels.
2. When compared to the placebo group, the women taking 2mg showed increases in their riboflavin levels, and women taking 4mg showed an even bigger increase.
3. Interestingly, for the group of women taking riboflavin, were found to have an increase in their haemoglobin levels. Haemoglobin levels correspond to the amount of iron there is the in body, the result indicates that riboflavin helps increase iron levels.
4. The women that had the bigger increases in the levels of riboflavin, were also associated with bigger increases in haemoglobin levels.
5. From the women in the riboflavin supplements group, the ones that began the study with the lowest levels of riboflavin, were also the ones that showed the highest increases in the levels of haemoglobin.
Getting enough Riboflavin
These results appear to show that even in a group of healthy people, it common to be deficient in riboflavin, and if your not taking enough riboflavin, simply by increasing the amount you take, could cut the risk of anaemia.
You can find riboflavin in a natural source in many foods. Super foods are rich in them, including wheatgrass, maca, bee pollen and spirulina.
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