Iron has been considered an essential mineral for our bodies for over a century. Iron, a mineral, functions primarily as a carrier of oxygen in the body, both as a part of hemoglobin in the blood and of myoglobin in the muscles. It also aids in immune function, cognitive development,temperature regulation, energy metabolism, and work performance. About 90% of the iron in our body is conserved and reused every day; the rest is excreted. Men are able to naturally store more iron than women. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III, intakes for men generally exceed the RDA, whereas most women consume lower than the RDA. A key point to remember is that the RDA for premenopausal women is 10 milligrams higher than the RDA for men, thus making it more challenging for women in this age group to consume an adequate amount of iron. The ability of the body to absorb and utilize iron from different foods varies.Iron, one of the most abundant metals on Earth, is essential to most life forms and to normal human physiology. Iron is an integral part of many proteins and enzymes that maintain good health.A deficiency of iron limits oxygen delivery to cells, resulting in fatigue, poor work performance, and decreased immunity. On the other hand, excess amounts of iron can result in toxicity and even death.Almost two-thirds of iron in the body is found in hemoglobin.Iron is also found in proteins that store iron for future needs and that transport iron in blood.Iron in plant foods such as lentils and beans is arranged in a chemical structure called nonheme iron. This is the form of iron added to iron-enriched and iron-fortified foods and most dietary iron is nonheme iron. Table: Selected Food Sources of Nonheme Iron DV = Daily Value

Food	Milligramsperserving	% DV*
Ready-to-eat cereal, 100% iron fortified, ¾ cup	18.0	100
Oatmeal, instant, fortified,preparedwithwater,1cup	10.0	60
Soybeans, mature, boiled, 1 cup	8.8	50
Lentils, boiled, 1 cup	6.6	35
Beans, kidney, mature, boiled, 1 cup	5.2	25
Beans, lima, large, mature, boiled, 1 cup	4.5	25
Beans, navy, mature, boiled, 1 cup	4.5	25
Beans, black, mature, boiled, 1 cup	3.6	20
Tofu, raw, firm, ½ cup	3.4	20
Spinach, boiled, drained, ½ cup	3.2	20
Spinach, canned, drained solids ½ cup	2.5	10
Black-eyed peas (cowpeas), boiled, 1 cup	1.8	10
Spinach, frozen, chopped, boiled ½ cup	1.9	10
Grits, white, enriched, quick, prepared with water,1cup	1.5	8
Raisins, seedless, packed, ½ cup	1.5	8
Whole wheat bread, 1 slice	0.9	6
White bread, enriched, 1 slice	0.9	6

Iron for Infants (7 to 12 months), Children, and Adults:

Age	Males(mg/day)	Females(mg/day)	Pregnancy(mg/day)	Lactation(mg/day)
7 to 12 months	11	11	N/A	N/A
1 to 3 years	7	7	N/A	N/A
4 to 8 years	10	10	N/A	N/A
9 to 13 years	8	8	N/A	N/A
14 to 18 years	11	15	27	10
19 to 50 years	8	18	27	9
51+ years	8	8	N/A	N/A

Full term infants are born with a supply of iron that lasts for 4 to 6 months.Iron in human breast milk is well absorbed by infants. It is estimated that infants can use greater than 50% of the iron in breast milk as compared to less than 12% of the iron in infant formula [1]. The amount of iron in cow's milk is low, and infants poorly absorb it. Feeding cow's milk to infants also may result in gastrointestinal bleeding. For these reasons, cow's milk should not be fed to infants until they are at least 1 year old.The World Health Organization considers iron deficiency the number one nutritional disorder in the world. As many as 80% of the world's population may be iron deficient, while 30% may have iron deficiency anemia.Signs of iron deficiency anemia include: feeling tired and weak decreased work and school performance slow cognitive and social development during childhood difficulty maintaining body temperature decreased immune function, which increases susceptibility to infection Pregnant women,preterm and low birth weight infants,older infants and toddlers,teenage girls,people with renal failure, especially those undergoing routine dialysis,women of childbearing age, especially those with heavy menstrual losses need more iron. Iron is found in both animal and plant foods.

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