I am a 21 year old man. I take a multivitamin daily that provides 100% of the RDI for iron. On top of that, I'm considering trying Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats which provides 90% of the daily value of iron in 1 serving. However, with the amount of the cereal I eat, I will be getting about 225% of iron from the cereal alone plus another 100% from the vitamin. I also eat meat throughout the day (turkey sandwich at lunch, fish/chicken for dinner etc.) and red meat maybe once or twice a week. I also eat raisins and greens which also have iron in them. Would I be consuming too much iron? Should I stick with a lower iron cereal? I hear too much iron is bad for males.
2007-05-01 13:44:45 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Food & Drink ➔ Other - Food & Drink
If there is a potential fatal danger to consuming too much iron, they should have a maximum recommended limit just like they do with sodium, saturated fat and cholesterol on the food labels.
2007-05-01 13:50:13 · update #1
Actually, you can consume too much iron. You will not notice the negative effects right away, but you will long term. Excess iron can build up organ tissues, especially the heart and/or liver...and can eventually cause Hemochromatosis.
It is recommended that females have 18mg or iron, and males only 10mg of iron a day. Doses of more than 20mg a day can cause upset stomach, constipation, and blackened stools. The maximum that I have found a source listing (maximum level before reaching toxic levels) is 45mg.
I know this might be a little more information than you asked for, but I thought I had better cover all bases.
2007-05-01 14:03:50 · answer #1 · answered by ladynefertum 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
If you can taste Iron you are taking too much.
2007-05-01 20:56:29 · answer #2 · answered by surffsav 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Any extra iron you take will be expunged from your body through urination anyway, so there really is not "too" much that you can take.
2007-05-01 20:53:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋