65 to 80 percent of women do not have enough iron reserves, a nutrition researcher at Wageningen University found. If there are long-term deficiencies, it can lead to anemia. So it is important to recognize a deficiency in time.

The causes are in our changed lifestyle and dietary patterns.

Symptoms of iron deficiency 

An estimated quarter of all women suffer from anemia due to iron deficiency, nutrition researcher Hans Verhoef discovered in 2023. That there is so little attention to it (yet) is remarkable. If more attention were paid to it, women could also be warned of the symptoms in order to get anemia. After all, you can get used to iron deficiency after a while and therefore not notice the symptoms properly (anymore). Symptoms of iron deficiency include dizziness, fatigue and shortness of breath.

Iron is needed to carry oxygen through the blood and deliver it to organs. It also stores oxygen in muscles. Vitamin C also plays a role in this: it in turn promotes iron absorption. Thus, a vitamin C deficiency can eventually lead to an iron deficiency.

Causes of iron deficiency in women

The fact that so many women suffer from iron deficiency these days has to do with changed eating patterns: more and more people are eating vegetarian or vegan, and we get most of our iron from meat anyway. 'But men can be vegetarian, can't they?' I hear you thinking. 'Then why don't they have deficiencies?' That in turn has to do with the female cycle. Women lose an average of 40 to as much as 200 ml of blood per month during menstruation, which is equivalent to a blood donation. If this loss of iron is not replenished, deficiencies quickly occur. Also during menopause, such major hormonal changes take place that iron deficiency occurs more quickly.

Eat more meat?

That there is so much iron deficiency is worrisome. Besides causing symptoms and health problems for the woman herself, in the case of pregnancy it is also dangerous for the development of the baby. It is important that more attention is paid to it, and also to the solution: supplementing the diet with iron supplements and vitamin C. The fact that less meat is eaten is a good development for the environment and animal welfare. But now it is important to think about our own well-being as well.

Sources:

• Josselin Gordijn - Due to current lifestyle, more and more women are anemic: 'Eating more meat is no solution, iron pills are, Parool

• Moisidis-Tesch, C. M., & Shulman, L. P. (2022). Iron deficiency in women's health: new insights into diagnosis and treatment. Advances in Therapy, 39(6), 2438-2451.