The short answer
No. One portion of carrots (1 carrot) gives about 0.2 mg of iron, 1% of the 18 mg a day women aged 19 to 50 need. Its colour may help plant iron in a little.
- mg0.2In one portion: 1 carrot
- %1Of the 18 mg a day women aged 19 to 50 need
- mg0.3Per 100 g, as eaten
How it compares
Iron per portion, next to other foods on the vegetables shelf.
What helps its iron in
Colour
Its carotenoids helped iron in from grain meals in one lab's trials. A later trial of vitamin A found no gain.
García-Casal MN, et al. (1998), J Nutr. Beta-carotene more than tripled iron absorption from a rice meal and raised it 1.8 times from wheat and corn, offsetting phytate.
Recipes with carrots
All recipes
Questions
How much iron is in carrots?
About 0.3 mg per 100 g, so 1 carrot (80 g) gives about 0.2 mg. The number is from USDA FoodData Central: Carrots, raw.
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central: Carrots, raw
- García-Casal MN, et al.. Vitamin A and beta-carotene can improve nonheme iron absorption from rice, wheat and corn by humans. J Nutr, 1998
- Walczyk T, et al.. No enhancing effect of vitamin A on iron absorption in humans. Am J Clin Nutr, 2003
- NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Iron: fact sheet for health professionals
- US Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR 101.54: nutrient content claims for "good source" and "high"
Iron is from food tables, for the food as eaten, and real foods vary with the cut, the brand and the recipe. Your body takes in a share of it, and a larger share when your stores are low.
Educational, not medical advice. ferritin.ai does not diagnose or treat any condition. Talk to your doctor about your own results.