Human Nutrition 3(3+0)

Lesson 38 : Iron

Requirements

Iron requirements are influenced by the bio-availability of iron present in foods. The Iron present in cereals, legumes and green leafy vegetables is available to a lesser extent (due to the presence of phytates and oxalates) than that present in egg, meat and fish. Therefore, iron requirements of persons consuming a predominantly cereal based diet, will be greater than those consuming large quantities of meat and eggs.

Table: Iron requirements for different age groups( mg/day)

Ages/Life stages	Iron mg/day
Infants	46 µg/kg/day
Children 1-3 years 4-6 7-9	09 13 16
Boys 10-12 13-15 16-17	21 32 28
Girl 10-12 13-15 16-17	27 27 26
man	17
Woman	21
Pregnancy	35
Lactation	25

Ref: Nutrition Expert grou , ICMR(2010)