Unfortunately in our society, low mood and anxiety are common symptoms experienced daily by many women. A new review paper has recently explored the effectiveness of increasing iron and zinc levels for improving mood and cognition, with encouraging results. The authors identified eleven studies assessing the impact of iron and zinc supplements on mood and cognitive functioning such as depression, anxiety, irritability, attention, memory, psychomotor skills and concentration in women aged between 12 and 55 years old.

The review found both iron and zinc supplements had significant benefits for mood and cognition, and interestingly these benefits were experienced regardless of whether the women were iron deficient at the start of the studies. Further work is planned to investigate dietary changes using iron and zinc-rich foods.