Women who menstruate need 18mg of iron a day and average 12
The recommendation is 8 milligrams a day for men, 18 for women who menstruate and 27 throughout pregnancy. Median intake runs about 12 for women and 16 to 18 for men.
What the study found
Premenopausal women need 18mg of iron a day and average 12
The recommended intake is 8 milligrams a day for men and for women past menopause, 18 for women who menstruate and 27 throughout pregnancy. Median intake runs 16 to 18 milligrams for men and about 12 for women, so the group needing most is the group getting least.
The caveat · Below target is not deficient
A median is not a person: half of women eat more than 12 milligrams and half less, and falling below a recommendation is not the same as being deficient. These intake figures were compiled for a 2001 report and have not been revised since. The absorption assumptions behind the recommendations predate what is now known about how the body regulates uptake.