Although as a species we all need to provide our bodies with the same essential nutrients to keep us fit, healthy and strong, there are often subtle differences in our daily requirements, depending on our age, activity levels and gender. Multivitamins and minerals are important for anyone who may not provide their body with enough of these essential micronutrients due to an absence in the diet. However, women often have increased demands for certain vitamins and minerals which may be difficult to obtain purely from the diet, therefore supplementation is often recommended to meet these demands.
Due to these innate differences between men and women, and the different needs over the different periods of a woman's life, there are both individual supplements tailored to boost women’s intake of vital nutrients, also specialised multivitamins and multiminerals that are designed to meet the specific needs of women. For example, Garden of Life Vitamin Code RAW ONE - for Women is a complete essential micronutrient supplement with vitamins and minerals in amounts to support women’s health throughout the different stages of life.
Due to differences in the hormones women produce that govern the menstrual cycle, and the loss of nutrients during the menstruation process, women often have increased demands for certain nutrients especially during this time. Of the utmost importance is proving enough iron to support losses during menstruation and to help the formation of new red blood cells.
Women’s micronutrient needs also change throughout the life time with different demands after the onset of the menopause. At this time there is a reduction in oestrogen levels and this is important because lower levels of oestrogen can put bone health at risk as it is an important mediator in the turnover and maintenance of healthy, dense bone. Losses in bone mineral density after menopause increases risk of fractures and makes it more difficult to recover from, lowering quality of life after injury. Therefore calcium, magnesium and vitamin D supplementation are often advised alongside exercise to help promote bone health at a younger age to sustain women into later life.
Women may also have to consider the huge demands placed on the body during pregnancy and lactation. For example, there is an increased demand for the essential micronutrient folic acid (Vitamin B2), which is important in the early stages of development to ensure proper formation of the nervous system and is suggested to be supplemented at 400 micrograms per day until around the 12th week of pregnancy, and ideally 4 weeks before conception to allow an underlying level of folic acid to support the first few weeks of development. During both pregnancy and lactation there are also increased requirements for calcium to support the development of a child and production of nutrient dense breast milk.
Outside of these specific time-of-life requirements it is very, very common for both women and men to consume less than their daily recommended intake, of both macro and micronutrients from a normal dietary intake. Zinc and vitamin B12 are commonly under consumed, as can Vitamin D in colder climates with less hours of daily sunshine. It appears that the advice to have a ‘balanced diet’ is still capable of failing some people, even those who consider themselves to eat healthily, and especially those who may not have time to think about or thoroughly plan meals. Therefore, it appears that a good quality multivitamin and/or multimineral supplement would be an important safeguard to protect against micronutrient deficiencies in men but arguable more crucially in women whose bodies are more prone to deficiencies due to both dietary factors (consuming less meat, for example) and due to natural demands of a woman's specific physiology.
Paul Rimmer (BSc, MSc, PhD)
