Worldwide, about 2 billion people are anemic. This means that a huge percentage of the population isn’t getting enough iron, a condition that leads to fatigue, susceptibility to illness and overall bad health. In Cambodia alone, over 50% of the residents are anemic – that is a staggeringly high number. One Canadian doctor wanted to change that. Dr. Christopher Charles recognized that this is the most common nutritional problem in the world, and that iron supplements are far too expensive for much of the world’s population. Thus, he created the iron fish: A fish-shaped solid hunk of iron that can be thrown into any pot of food to add the nutritional mineral to the dish.
So, how does it work? Dr. Charles explained in an interview: Boil up water or soup with the iron fish for at least 10 minutes…you can then take it out. Now add a little lemon juice which is important for the absorption of the iron. If it seems simple, that’s because it is: The iron fish adds 75% of the consumer’s daily requirement of iron to the food, and doesn’t make it taste differently. According to Charles, over 2,500 Cambodians are now using the fish: trial data shows that half of those who took part in the study were no longer anemic after 12 months.
It is a truly compelling, possibly world-changing invention.
