You’ve probably heard at least something about iron in the daily foods we consume. Organizations in the United States have created advertisements for iron as early as the 1940’s with a focus on anemia. While that was a few decades ago, we’ve seen information shared in the My Pyramid campaign with the little man walking up the steps the kids in school would color in. Fun fact, that campaign was rebranded into USDA’s My Plate in 2011.
Iron Found in Food
Those campaigns did a great job of informing us that iron can be found in a lot of our daily foods. These include red meat, pork, seafoods, peas, and different kinds of dried fruit like apricots and raisins. In fact, just from the daily foods we eat alone, the average daily intake of iron for men is 16-18mg per day. For women over the age of 19 on the other hand, the average daily intake of iron from food comes to 12-13mg per day. From food alone, we are able to almost reach the suggested daily intake per day.
Supplements and Suggested Daily Iron Intake
The suggested daily intake of iron for men over the age of 18 is 8.7mg per day. While the suggested daily intake of iron for women aged 19 to 50 is 18mg per day. These may seem drastically different, but women have a higher suggested intake due to iron lost in their menstrual period. While iron deficiency is more common in women, general deficiency in iron may lead to anemia.
In order to maintain a healthy daily intake of iron recommended by the National Institute of Health, personalized supplements may be the path to achieve this. Most iron supplements offer 16-18mg, which places the average individual over the suggested intake. While this may seem excessive, women who get 18mg from a supplement and 13mg from food daily, still land below their upper limit and ensure they meet their daily recommended intake. Your diet may vary from day to day, so supplements are also a great way to get enough iron and not worry about tracking every bite of your diet.
Keeping Track of Iron Intake
Anemia surely is a concern when it comes to deficiency in iron, there are also concerns with taking iron in some cases. For example, iron can impact the 4.4% of Caucasians who have a mutation that causes hemochromatosis, iron is also highly dangerous to children who get their hands on it. Hemochromatosis is also commonly referred to as “iron overload” when your body absorbs too much iron from the food you eat and has no way of getting rid of it. It is important to note that men should not supplement with iron. With this knowledge you can move on to other questions, such as is liver good for you?
Try our Iron with Vitamin C
A patented form of iron that is gentle on the stomach and includes vitamin C for enhanced absorption.*
Persona and Iron
We at Persona recognize how different iron intake can be for everyone, so our Foundational Multivitamin doesn’t contain iron. But our Iron with Vitamin C contains 18mg of iron for those who need it. With our personalized approach, it all starts with our assessment. We offer recommendations for the right vitamin/supplement regimen based on your answers to our questions. Take our assessment and see if our Iron with Vitamin C is right for you! Providing the benefits of healthy blood cells*, well-tolerated for digestive comfort*, with vitamin C for enhanced absorption*.
