How many micro-nutrients does the body need? The amount of micro nutrients that a body needs is based on:

1. gender-specific biological factors;

2. different workloads;

3. state of health.

1.Biological factors Girls and women of reproductive age generally have a higher need for certain micronutrients, for example iron, than men. Certain processes in the female body such as menstruation, pregnancy and lactation take up high amounts of micronutrients which have to be made available to the body with food. According to FAO data, even non-pregnant women need 2.5 more times more iron than men. A pregnant woman needs almost four times as much iron than a non-pregnant woman, 1.5 times more folic acid and 20 percent more calcium. During lactation, she needs 40 percent more vitamin A and C and 15 percent more vitamin B12 (see FAO 2000). Essentially, the food ingested by women should contain a significantly higher share of micronutrients than that eaten by men, even if the same amounts are eaten. If women eat less food, then it has to contain even more micronutrients.

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source:Heike Spohr