Are women really iron deficient?
Excessive menstrual bleeding can lead to iron deficiency. Ironically, low iron status can itself be a cause of excessive bleeding and clotting (although it can also inhibit the menstrual flow). It has been estimated that approximately one billion of the world's population have iron deficient anaemia, and that even in more economically advanced societies, 20% of women who menstruate regularly are anaemic. (Donohoe, 1993)
These figures, however, are skewed by the fallacious assumption that women are deficient because they don't have as much iron as obviously fit and healthy males. From around age 20 to 50 women store very little iron due to menstruation and pregnancy, but after menopause iron stores in women increase to similar levels of men the same age.
Dr Mark Donohoe, a medical practitioner specialising in environmental illnesses, says how important it is to avoid iron excess for a long and healthy life. Apparently our bodies go out of their way to protect against too much iron, as it supports free radical reactions, and tends to oxidise or be oxidised.
The paradox is that iron reserves relative to age is the best predictor cardiovascular disease and death across populations. Accumulation of iron equates with accumulation of oxidative risk, risk of DNA damage, damage to blood vessels and risk of damage by cutting off supplies of oxygen to our hearts and bodies. Iron supplementation to bring women into line with men poses a real risk — high iron levels may kill women at the same rate that it kills men. Women may well live longer partly because they are oxidising less. Iron is very useful if you are charging around killing woolly mammoths, as you need to get oxygen in quickly and have a bit in reserve, but you won't necessarily live a long time. (Donohoe,1993) This is not to say that iron supplementation is never necessary — many people are iron deficient, and girls or women who bleed heavily, or have an iron-poor diet, may be more likely to be anaemic than others. You need to first find out if you, or your daughter, are anaemic. If so, begin professionally supervised iron supplementation, complementing this with trace elements and antioxidants. Always remember that random supplementation can do more harm than good.
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