Iron Rich Foods

Today we have a lot of iron rich foods. In fact, it is hard to find a breakfast cereal that is not fortified with iron. However, here I want to talk about other sources of iron, maybe not so conventional. First, let’s talk about your needs for iron. That varies depending on age and gender. Infants, for example, actually need more iron than an adult male! Did you know that? Breast milk is actually a terrific source of iron, while cow’s milk has no iron. This is why it is recommended to breast-feed newborns and infants up until the first year o life. We older folks, however, need other sources of this wonderful mineral. This table shows how much iron we need, according to age and gender:

Infant, 0–6 months	0.27 milligrams
Infant, 7–12 months	11 milligrams
Child, 1–3 years	7 milligrams
Child, 4–8 years	10 milligrams
Male, 9–13 years	8 milligrams
Male, 14–18 years	11 milligrams
Male, 19–50 years	8 milligrams
Male, 51–70 years	8 milligrams
Female, 9–13 years	8 milligrams
Female, 14–18 years	15 milligrams
Female, 19–30 years	18 milligrams
Female, 31–50 years	18 milligrams
Female, 51–70 years	8 milligrams
Pregnancy, younger than 18 years	27 milligrams
Pregnancy	27 milligrams
Lactation	10 milligrams

Iron Rich Foods

Now, let’s talk about food. These are some good sources of iron:

1 oz pumpkin seeds, roasted	4.2 milligrams
1/4 block tofu	1.3 milligrams
1/4 cup sunflower seeds	1.22 milligrams
1 cup spinach, boiled	6.43 milligrams
3 oz tuna, canned in water	1.3 milligrams
1 packet instant oatmeal, plain	10.55 milligrams
1 cup sweet potatoes, canned	2 milligrams
1 cup raisins	2.73 milligrams
1 square chocolate, unsweetened	4.93 milligrams
4 oz lean beef, broiled	4.05 milligrams