Iron is a metal that serves as an essential component of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying constitutent of red blood cells, and myoglobin, the oxygen-carrying constituent of muscle cells. While a well-balanced diet theoretically contains all the nutrients you need, many women find it difficult to consume a well-balanced diet. Depending on your age and health status, you may benefit from a vitamin with iron. Before you take one, ask you doctor for advice.
Function
Iron binds with oxygen in the relatively oxygen-rich environment of the lungs and exchanges oxygen for carbon dioxide in the relatively carbon dioxide-rich environment of the tissue. This cycle of exchange between oxygen for carbon dioxide is essential to life. Mayo Clinic hematologist David Steensma, M.D. says 1 in 9 American women do not get enough iron. Signs and symptoms that you are not getting enough include blue cast to the whites of the eyes, brittle nails, pale skin, sore tongue, fatigue, headache, weakness, irritability and unusual food cravings.
Requirement
The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine sets the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, for iron in women 19 to 50 years, at 18 mg per day and women older than 51 years at 8 mg per day, which is the same amount that men require. For pregnant women, the RDA for iron is 27 mg per day and for breast-feeding women, the RDA is 9 mg per day. The lower amount for breast-feeding women reflects the pause in menstruation that usually accompanies breast-feeding. Women who resume menstruation during breast feeding resemble non-pregnant women in their iron requirement. If you do not regularly meet the RDA, or if much of the iron you consume comes from plant food sources, you many need additional iron in a vitamin supplement.
Risk Groups
The National Institutes of Health identifies pregnant women and women of childbearing age, especially those with heavy menstrual losses, among those "most likely" to benefit from supplemental iron. Other groups on the list include vegetarians, people with kidney failure and gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn's syndrome and celiac disease. Among women of childbearing age, the NIH says women who use oral contraceptives are less likely to require iron supplements because they have lower menstrual losses, while women who use intrauterine devices may be more likely to require them because of higher menstrual losses.
Safety
Post-menopausal women and women of northern European descent are at risk for a condition known as hemochromatosis where excess iron intake leads to iron accumulation in the liver and heart. Symptoms do not appear until organ damage has already occurred. Excess iron might also increase the risk of heart disease in women with type 2 diabetes, however MedlinePlus says this has not been proven conclusively. Iron can also make gastrointestinal problems like stomach ulcers and ulcerative colitis worse and it competes with other nutrients, such as calcium for absorption.
Effectiveness
Supplemental iron is effective for treating and preventing iron deficiency in most women. Vitamins with iron contain a variable amount of iron. Some vitamins with iron are designed specifically to treat iron deficiency. They contain other vitamins -- such as B12, B6 and folate -- that specifically support the formation of new red blood cells since anemia is one of the major consequences of iron deficiency. Other vitamins contain lower amounts of iron that are sufficient to prevent iron deficiency. Ask your doctor which type is right for you. Your doctor may tell you to take a vitamin that contains no iron at all.
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