Dietary Iron Fact Sheet
Dietary reference intakes is the general term for a set of reference values used for planning and assessing nutrient intake for healthy people.
Dietary iron fact sheet. Iron is a mineral that the body needs for growth and development. A variety of heme and nonheme sources of iron are listed in tables 1 and 2. Heme iron and nonheme iron. Healthy adults absorb about 10 to 15 of dietary iron but individual absorption is influenced by several factors 1 3 8 11 15.
Iron food fact sheet iron is a mineral that has many different roles in the body. Iron also plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy immune system your body s natural defence system. Dietary supplement fact sheet. Iron absorption refers to the amount of dietary iron that the body obtains and uses from food.
Iron in food comes in two forms. Iron university of colorado denver. Heme iron is found in animal products. Iron recommendations for iron are provided in the dietary reference intakes dris developed by the institute of medicine of the national academy of sciences 1.
For a reader friendly overview of iron see our consumer fact sheet on iron. Dietary supplement fact sheet. Dietitians often divide iron into two types heme and nonheme. Most of the iron in our bodies is found in the blood as hemoglobin which is a protein that carries oxygen to the body s tissues.
Your body uses iron to make hemoglobin a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body and myoglobin a protein that provides oxygen to muscles. Iron fact sheet for consumers iron is found in lean meat seafood poultry beans iron fortified breakfast cereals and breads and other foods. Nonheme iron is found in plant foods and iron fortified food products. This is the form of iron added to iron enriched and iron fortified foods.
Heme iron is absorbed better than nonheme iron but most dietary iron is nonheme iron 8. What is iron and what does it do. Nonheme iron is plant based. For more details see our health professional fact sheet on iron.
A protein contained in red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body. This is a reader friendly overview of iron. Iron is a chemical element symbol fe that our bodies need to function correctly. Meat seafood and poultry have both heme and nonheme iron.
This food fact sheet lists the recommended amounts of iron for different groups of people and the foods and drinks that are rich in iron. A protein contained in red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body. Selected food sources of heme iron 10. Here s how to increase iron in your diet womenshealth gov.
Food fact sheet it is particularly important for making haemoglobin. Iron is a mineral that is naturally present in many foods added to some food products and available as a dietary supplement.