ApowerfulandcriticalinvestigationofirondeficiencyinwomenthroughoutevolutionaryhistoryandinourcurrentsocietyWomenoftheworldarebesetbyahiddenhunger:irondeficiency.Upto40%ofreproductive-agedwomenacrosstheglobehaveirondeficiencyanemia,anditcontributesto20%ofmaternaldeaths.Despitethesedirestatistics,womenarenotroutinelyscreenedforirondeficiency.Irondeficiencyhasbeenusedasatooltocontrol,categorize,andevenignorewomenandtheirsuffering.Biomedicalremedies-mostlyironsupplementation-areunequallyandindifferentlyappliedtoglobalpopulationsofwomen.ThickerThanWaterexploresthereasonswomenareespeciallyvulnerable,usingevolutionarytheoryandsocialtheorytounderstandthecausesandconsequencesofirondeficiencyinwomen.Contrarytopopularbelief,homeostasisprotectstheironstoresofwomenfromironlossduringmenstruation.Women’sironmetabolismhasevolvedtobalancethebenefitsanddangerofiron,protectingvulnerableembryosagainstexcessiveironatthecostofreducedironstoresforthemselves.Thisbalancingactisthreatenedwhensocialcircumstancespreventwomenfromaccessingthedietaryirontheyneed.Exploringhowrace,poverty,andgenderareentangledwithwomen’sevolvedbodies,Dr.ElizabethM.Millerbringsanewanthropologicallenstothisissuethatdeeplyaffectsandeventhreatenswomen’slives.Ultimately,thisbookshowsthatwomen’sevolvedbodies-optimizedtoprotectthemselvesandtheiroffspring-aredevastatedbystructuralforcesbeyondtheircontrol.
POVERTY WATER ELIZABETHM WOMEN
