Guest guest Posted June 18, 2004 Report Share Posted June 18, 2004 Since there are so many women posting here, I thought this was worth a discussion. The RDA for iron for women of childbearing age (i.e. menstruating) is 18 mg per day. Women with heavy periods can need as much as 30 mg per day. Post-menopausal women and men need only 10 mg per day. The standard " healthy eating " advice works against women getting iron, and is in my opinion geared towards men - since it encourages people to avoid red meats. From my CRON experience, even though I eat as much as 20 oz of red meat a week and lots of spinach and broccoli, I don't come anywhere close to 18 mg per day. I do get 10. I don't know the exact percentage, but studies consistently show that women in America are often anemic. Low iron status will make you tired, mentally dull, and give you bad nails. It's hard enough being a young woman in America, with kids and jobs, you don't need anemia working against you. I did not realize that I was not getting enough iron until I tracked my diet with a nutrition tool. If you don't know how much iron you are getting, please track it for a week or two. Then take supplements if you need to. You may be surprised at the difference it makes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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