It has been reported in numerous studies that large numbers of individuals in Western nations are deficient or borderline deficient in many of the essential elements. This is a paradox, because food is cheap and widely available in developed nations, yet despite this large numbers of individuals suffer from low micronutrient intakes. Evidence suggests that the processed convenience food eaten in large amount in developed nations is the cause of this low quality diet, with the development of Western diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and obesity, the result. In fact, deficiencies of minerals are now so widespread that even those nutrients that receive widespread media attention are not consumed in adequate amounts. For example, iron deficiency is not one of the most common nutrient deficiencies in Western nations with estimates suggesting that around 5% of women may have anaemia.
Researcers1 from France used a cross sectional study to investigate the iron status of women aged 17 to 38 years, and reported that the prevalence of borderline iron deficiency was 11.4%. However, more worryingly, 19.3% of the women actually had iron deficiencies. The women were given a questionnaire to complete and those with poor iron status were more likely to report poor general health, suggesting that the iron deficiency (and possibly other deficiencies) were impairing their lives. In this study, iron deficiency was classified as a serum ferritin level below 15µg/L, borderline status was characterised as between 15 and 20 µg/L and iron repletion was characterised as serum ferritin greater than 20µg/L. A large number of women therefore had poor iron status despite having access to cheap, widely available and healthy food. In addition, a typical multivitamin tablet contains enough iron to provide adequate iron status in most individuals.
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