Menstrual Blood Loss

Menstrual blood loss during the menstrual cycle occurs in many primates, including humans and apes.  The extent of blood loss in  is sufficient to cause a state of chronic iron deficiency in many human females who do not have constant access to a good source of dietary iron.  Anecdotal descriptive evidence indicates that the amount of blood loss during human menstruation is greater than in the other hominids.  However accurate data on this point are not available and wild apes have not bee studied for iron deficiencr.  No theory has sufficiently accounted for the phenomenon of heavy menstruation. Interestingly, red meat is the richest source of bioavailable dietary iron.