Women’s Wellness Part 3: Iron and PMS
In a meta-analysis assessing the mineral intake of approximately 3,000 women. It found that eating an iron-rich diet (20mg per day) was linked to a 30-40% lower risk of developing premenstrual syndrome when compared to the lowest intake of iron (around 10mg per day) (Am J Epidemiol. 2013 May).
Menstruating women lose around 40% more iron per day when compared to men, with some studies stating how heavy menstrual bleeding is one of the leading causes of anemia in the developed world (Liu Z, et al. 2007).
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey indicates that 12-16% of non-pregnant women (aged 16-49 years) have iron deficiency, with 2-4% having anemia.
Increasing iron intake through diet and supplementation for two months has been shown to reduce PMS symptoms considerably in all anemic women (Mitesh Sinha et al. 2013).
Stay tuned for the next posts as I will be breaking down different ways to functionally assess iron and the variety of food sources that contain the highest iron levels.