Getting Enough Iron

Topic Overview

How much dietary iron is recommended each day?

**Recommended daily amounts of iron from food**¹
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
Adolescents (ages 9 to 18)	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.

**Meat and poultry**²
	Serving size	Iron (mg)
Beef (ground)	3 oz	2 mg
Chicken	3 oz	1 mg
Turkey	3 oz	1 mg–2 mg

**Fruits and vegetables**²
	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

**Cereals and grains**²
	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

Related Information

References

Citations
Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine (2011). Dietary reference intakes (DRIs): Recommended dietary allowances and adequate intakes, elements. Available online: http://iom.edu/Activities/Nutrition/SummaryDRIs/~/media/Files/Activity%20Files/Nutrition/DRIs/New%20Material/2_%20RDA%20and%20AI%20Values_Vitamin%20and%20Elements.pdf.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (2011). Nutrient data laboratory. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 24. Available online: http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=8964.

Credits

By	Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer	E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Brian Leber, MDCM, FRCPC - Hematology
Last Revised	April 8, 2011

By:

Healthwise Staff

Last Revised: April 8, 2011

Medical Review:

E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Brian Leber, MDCM, FRCPC - Hematology

This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.