Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations


 The average daily intake of calcium for both men and women
was above the recommended amount and only 19 percent of the
men and 30 percent of the women had less than this amount.
It was surprising to find that the consumption of milk was
higher for men than for women. It was no doubt because of
this that only 7 percent of the men had less than 0.7 gm. of
calcium while 30 percent of the women were in this class.
 Although the best sources of dietary iron are foods high in
animal protein, in this study it was found that green leafy
vegetables and dried and fresh legumes contributed a signifi-
cant part of the iron which was obviously utilized. Men usually
consumed more foods high in iron than women. For this rea-
son the average daily iron intake of men met the allowance,
while that of the women did not. Nearly 60 percent of the
men and 46 percent of the women had an average daily intake
of 12 or more milligrams of iron, and 15 percent of the men
and 18 percent of the women had less than 10 milligrams of
iron daily.
 There was little relationship between blood levels of hemo-
globin and dietary levels of iron. In a well-nourished individ-
ual, increases in the intake of iron had no effect upon hemoglobin
values, which were already within the normal range. There-
fore no correlation would be expected.
 High intakes of iron occasionally were found in subjects whose
hemoglobin values ranged from subnormal to anemic. On the
other hand, some subjects with low iron intakes had high hemo-
globin values. Three subjects with intakes of 16, 16 and 25
mgs. of iron had hemoglobin values of 9.8, 11.3 and 12.1 grams.
Four other cases with an estimated daily intake of 6 mgs. of
iron had hemoglobin values of 13.5, 14.5, 15.2 and 16 grams.
In this low-intake group there was the possibility of iron econ-
omy, whereby high hemoglobin values could be maintained on a
low intake of iron. Perhaps a more plausible explanation would
be that in the estimation of iron in the various foods, certain
discrepancies occurred, such as omissions of food items, varia-
tion in size of servings and in methods of preparation.
 The favorable response of subjects with high intakes of iron
to hematinic treatment indicated that their low hemoglobin
values probably were due to faulty absorption, impaired utiliza-
tion or to other causes and not to age. It was evident that,
whatever the causes, the hemoglobin values or erythrocyte
counts or both had improved under the treatment. Later it was