The Press Conference was held in Milan on Tuesday, May 9, to introduce on the market the new iron-based food supplement developed with IBSA’s FilmTec technology.
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Press Conference – Iron and Women: how to maintain well-being and energy
Several experts took part in the Conference, contributing to the lively discussion with their own perspective and experience in the management of iron deficiencies in different types of patients. Among them, Giorgio Donegani, nutrition expert and food technologist; Irene Cetin, Director of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology UOC at the “Vittore Buzzi” Children’s Hospital, University of Milan; Cesare Liberali, general practitioner; and Michele De Grandi, sports medicine specialist. As a special guest, a great talent and pride of Italian sport: Valentina Vezzali, Olympic and World fencing champion, who participated in the discussion by bringing her own experience, not only as a professional athlete, but also as a woman and a mother.
Despite being present only in small quantities in our body, iron is an absolutely essential mineral for our health: it’s a critical component of haemoglobin and myoglobin; it participates in the activity of many enzymes and also plays an important role in the proper functioning of the immune system. However, a large part of the population is unable to take an optimal amount of it, thus developing a deficiency, or even anaemia: according to data from the World Health Organization, in the world there are over 700 million people with an iron deficiency and about 2 billion with iron-deficiency anaemia. Pregnant and childbearing age women, the elderly and sportsmen are the categories of people most subject to deficiencies related to nutrition, lifestyle, gender and age.
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The testimony of Valentina Vezzali highlighted all the needs of professional athletes, who must constantly monitor their iron levels because a deficiency can become a problem for their health and affect their performance, causing a progressive drop in power and aerobic endurance, as well as a slower recovery.
A particular focus was also dedicated to the difficulties arising from the intake of iron supplements in different types of patients: poor digestibility, which impacts the well-being of athletes during training or competitions; the need to have water available in case of tablet formulations; the bad taste of liquid solutions; the problems of elderly subjects with swallowing difficulties; these are all situations that do not facilitate patient compliance.
The innovation of an orodispersible film responds to these needs: it’s Ferro IBSA, an ultra-thin sheet of polymeric material which, once it comes into contact with saliva, dissolves in seconds without the need for water. A new way of taking iron that is simple, fast and convenient.