By Rachel Wenzlaff - Staff
Iron deficiency affects nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide. It is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world.
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In Cambodia, almost half of the population is iron deficient. This preventable condition can lead to anemia, weakness, impaired cognitive ability, compromised physical development in children, increased risk of illness and in extreme cases, death.
A majority of Cambodians live on less than $1 a day, making it nearly impossible to afford iron supplements or iron-rich foods. That's why Dr. Chris Charles came up with an alternative: Just add iron to the food people are already eating.
Charles worked with Gavin Armstrong to develop the 'Lucky Iron Fish.' The Lucky Iron Fish is a dense block of iron that costs only $5. Since Cambodia was the main region that inspired this project the developers crafted it into the shape of a fish, a symbol of love in Cambodia.
One Lucky Iron Fish can provide an entire family with up to 75 percent of their daily iron intake for up to five years, and all you have to do is cook with it.
To release the iron stored in the fish, drop it into boiling water and remove it after 10 minutes. Then simply continue cooking as normal and enjoy your iron rich meal.
In Cambodia, after 9 months of using the Lucky Iron Fish every day, researchers saw a 50 percent decrease in the incidence of clinical iron deficiency anemia, and an increase in users' iron levels.
So far 51,000 people have benefited from a Lucky Iron Fish and the company only expects that number to grow. ?