Originally Posted By: bacpacjac
We get low on iron once a month. Some women even need iron supplements. Low iron means less energy. There are lots of food sources but, for longer term scenarios, it's probably a good idea to stock a multi-vitamin made specifically for women. Warning though: too much iron can be dangerous.

Ummm.... I'm pretty sure that most women that need iron supplements just aren't eating a good diet. I mean, the average blood loss during a typical menstrual cycle is something like 100ml. Given that most women are running with about 5000ml in their tank, it's a very small volume to lose. And since your average red blood cell lifespan is 90 days, a body pretty much replaces 1% of it's totaly blood volume per day (ie, 50ml). Which means ... 2 days to replace what you lose in a menstrual cycle.

Now granted, there's some tissue loss as well, but it's also a pretty small amount in the scheme of things.

Yes, vitamins in general are probably a good idea. A decent meal is probably better. We weren't designed with vitamins in mind.