Getting Enough Iron
Topic Overview
How much dietary iron is recommended each day?
| Men |
Adult |
8 mg |
| Women |
Adult (age 50 and older) |
8 mg |
|
Adult (ages 19 to 50) |
18 mg |
|
|
Pregnant |
27 mg |
|
|
Lactating |
9 mg to 10 mg |
|
| Adolescents (ages 9 to 18) |
Girls |
8 mg to 15 mg |
|
Boys |
8 mg to 11 mg |
|
| Children (birth to age 8) |
Ages 4 to 8 |
10 mg |
|
Ages 1 to 3 |
7 mg |
|
|
Infants (7 months to 1 year) |
11 mg |
|
|
Infants (birth to 6 months) |
0.27 mg |
What foods are high in iron?
You can get iron from many types of food made from animals and plants. Beef and turkey are good sources of iron from meats. Beans are good sources of iron from plants.
Iron-fortified foods includes cereals.
| Serving size | Iron (mg) | |
|---|---|---|
|
Beef (ground) |
3 oz |
2 mg |
|
Chicken |
3 oz |
1 mg |
|
Turkey |
3 oz |
1 mg–2 mg |
| Serving size | Iron (mg) | |
|---|---|---|
|
Beans (cooked or canned) |
1 cup |
1 mg–5 mg |
|
Potato (baked) |
1 medium |
2 mg |
|
Raisins |
1 cup |
3 mg |
|
Spinach (cooked) |
1 cup |
6 mg |
| Serving size | Iron (mg) | |
|---|---|---|
|
Cereals (iron-fortified, ready to eat) |
1 cup |
4 mg–18 mg |
|
Oatmeal (instant) |
1 cup |
4 mg |
|
Rice (white, enriched) |
1 cup |
3 mg |
| By: | Reference Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: Reference April 8, 2011 |
| Medical Review: | Reference E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Reference Brian Leber, MDCM, FRCPC - Hematology |
|
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