Women Aren't Getting Enough Nutrients. That's Incredibly Problematic
By Tieraona Low Dog
For women, iron could be the key to boosting brain function.
That's the conclusion of a recent study that examined a group of female college students. The students performed a series of cognitive tests that progressively increased in difficulty. Those who were deficient in iron struggled to keep up.
That makes sense; iron ensures the brain has enough oxygen and energy to perform complex tasks. Yet more than one in ten U.S. women lacks the iron they need. By contrast, just one in 50 men does.
This isn't the only area of nutrition where women lag behind their male counterparts. Nearly four in ten women fail to provide their bodies with all the vitamins and nutrients they need.
A daily multivitamin can help women fill those gaps. Many women can simply add these supplements to their grocery lists. But millions of poor women struggle to do so. Fortunately, policymakers can easily expand access to needed vitamins.
Nutritional deficiencies can cause severe health problems.
Iron deficiency can cause weakness, fatigue, headaches, and shortness of breath -- and impede thinking. It can also increase the risk of developing pancreatic, liver, and kidney cancer.
Vitamin D helps prevent osteoporosis -- a condition in which the bones become weak and break easily. This condition disproportionately effects women. In fact, half of all women will experience a fracture from a fall at standing height or less in their lifetime. Vitamin D deficiency is largely responsible; nearly four in ten women are short on this nutrient.
Nutritional deficiencies can particularly harm pregnant or breast-feeding women and their babies, as more nutrients are needed to support healthy fetal and post-natal growth. Alarmingly, nationwide, half of these women don't get enough vitamins.
For one, vitamin A. During pregnancy, the body saps maternal tissue of this vitamin to support fetal growth. So, pregnant women can suddenly find themselves falling short of a critical nutrient that protects vision and the immune system. Many women lack this nutrient. This deficiency can also hurt the fetus. One study of pregnant women found that those short on vitamin A were less likely to carry their babies to term.
Folic acid, or vitamin B9, supports the development of a baby's brain and spinal cord. Shortages can result in serious birth defects, including paralysis, and even death. Yet nearly three in four women of reproductive age don't get the government recommended amount.
Eating better can help people dodge these risks, of course. But millions of poor women struggle to access healthy food. Fast food is easier and cheaper.
For many women, buying cheap food is the only financially feasible option. One in eight women lives in poverty, compared to one in ten men. Women are also more likely to live in extreme poverty.
That's why multivitamins are critical. One review of over 10,000 women concluded that those who took iron supplements were less likely to be anemic than those who did not. Another review found that calcium plus vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of all fractures by 15 percent -- and hip fractures by 30 percent.
For low-income women who would struggle to buy multivitamins, policymakers could easily help by expanding the list of what's covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Doing so would come at very little cost to the government. But it would drastically improve health.
Millions of women aren't getting the vitamins they need. Multivitamins offer a solution.
Tieraona Low Dog, M.D. is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of integrative medicine, dietary supplements and women's health.
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting
More Nutrition Information:
- Group 1
- Group 2
- Group 3
- Group 4
- Group 5
- Group 6
- Group 7
- Group 8
- Group 9
- Group 10
- Group 11
- Group 12
- Group 13
- Group 14
- Group 15
- Group 16
- Group 17
- Group 18
- Group 19
- Group 20
- Group 21
- Group 22
- Group 23
- Group 24
- Group 25
- Group 26
- Group 27
- Group 28
- Group 29
- Group 30
- Group 31
- Group 32
- Group 33
- Group 34
- Group 35
- Group 36
- Group 37
- Group 38
- Group 39
- Group 40
Related Articles
Fluoride Damages Childrens Bones, Study Says
White-spotted or yellow splotched teeth may reveal more than needed expensive cosmetic dentistry.Children with fluoride-discolored teeth (dental fluorosis) are more likely to have bone damage, according to a study published in the journal "Fluoride.
5 Tips for Dining Out and Eating Healthily
Here's food for thought! Did you know the average restaurant mealhas over 1,000 calories? That's enough to blow any healthy eatingplan. Fortunately, by following a few simple guidelines, you candine out without having to sacrifice good taste and nutrition.
What Everybody Ought to Know About Food Additives
Every day we are bombarded with information about food products that are healthy, all natural, have no artificial ingredients, no preservatives, low fat, no fat, no cholesterol, sugar free, vitamin fortified and provide 100% of your daily vitamin requirements. Are these foods as healthy as the advertising tries to make us believe they are?Let's look at the facts.
Avocado - Ooh, What a Lovely Pear!
Many people avoid avocados thinking them to be fattening, but the truth is they are packed with Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) which burn fat so actually they make you thin! So now you are over that little misconception, let me tell you the rest of the avocado story?Avocados contain over 12 minerals. These minerals stimulate growth and keep other body functions in check.
Healthy Aging - The Clean-Meat Connection
It is shocking how many people are not taking advantage of the lessons from 21st Century research on cellular health. The syntax of disease is known by many researchers; and many of them are telling you what you can do to protect yourself.
Just How Dangerous Are Splenda and Artificial Sweeteners - Which Side is Spinning?
There seems to be fairly poor tracking by any formal standards once a product is approved as a food additive. Despite supposedly tracking adverse reactions, the reality has been different at the FDA.
Simple Easy Health and Home Fixes From The Days Gone By
How did we cure ourselves of many aches pains and illnesses in the past?Most of the remedies worked very well, were cheap and could usually be found in most homes.Did you know that? Drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately, without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional "pain relievers.
Green Tea and Cholesterol Facts
A green and lush oasis in the middle of a scorching dessert. A cool breeze on a hot summer night.
Dietary Sources of Glutathione
DIETARY SOURCES OF GLUTATHIONE: Glutathione (GSH) is an antioxidant and detoxifying agent whose protective role has been demonstrated in numerous clinical studies. GSH is synthesized rapidly in the liver, kidneys, and other tissues of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract.
Factors that Affect the Nutritional Requirements of an Individual.
The factors that affect the nutritional requirements of an individual are the quality and quantity of the food they eat, the efficiency of their digestive system in absorbing and utilizing eaten food and biochemical availability.The quality of food that we eat can vary depending on the soil and growing conditions of that food.
What Really Happens To The Food You Eat
After we have eaten a meal -- and often we do this in a hurry, without much chewing, under a lot of stress, or in the presence of negative emotions -- we give no thought to what becomes of our food once it has been swallowed.We have been led to assume that anything put in the mouth automatically gets digested flawlessly, is efficiently absorbed into the body where it nourishes our cells, with the waste products being eliminated completely by the large intestine.
Why People Get Sick
The body is a marvelous creation, a carbon, oxygen combustion machine, constantly burning fuel, disposing of the waste products of combustion, and constantly rebuilding tissue by replacing worn out, dead cells with new, fresh ones.Every seven years virtually every cell in the body is replaced, some types of cells having a faster turnover rate than others, which means that over a seven year period several hundred pounds of dead cells must be digested (autolyzed) and eliminated.
Ever Hear of This Fruit?
I want to tell you about the most healthful and most delicious tropical fruit that you'd ever want to taste. It's called the mangosteen, and the reason you've probably never heard of it is because you can't buy it in the United States.
The Hidden Price of Being Healthy
What I am also going to point out is the not-so-obvious cost of not being healthy. But, as you know, nothing in life is free.
The coq10 Benefit
Coq10 is also known as Coenzyme Q10.This co q10 is produced naturally in the human body, and is a source of various coq10 benefit.
Fruits and Vegetables and Phytochemicals
I'm willing to bet you probably haven't heard the word 'phytochemicals' before. But you've been eating them your whole life and they are vitally important to your life and well-being.
Time Line of the Development of GlycoBiology and GlycoNutritionals
1880s - Characterization of monosaccharides by Emil Fischer.1952 - Fresh, not aged, Aloe gel heals radiation burns on rabbits (Clarence C.
Protein Wont Make You Fat: Myth #1
How many magazines have you read where they tell you to take in X grams of protein? How many times have you see .75g of protein per lb of bodyweight or 1g maybe 1.
Is Dr. Arthur Agatston Fearing the Loss of Popularity of South Beach Diet?
Dr. Arthur Agatston, the cardiologist who developed South Beach Diet has stated in a recent interview that the diet is not low-carb, as everybody labels it.
Bye Bye Holidays and Holiday Eating
Bye Bye HolidaysHoping everyone had a fun, fantastic, exciting and relaxing mix of Holiday eventfulness or lack thereof. Whatever it was that you did, that it most suited your moods and needs.