Although orange juice has only 0.2 mg of iron per 100g, it can naturally increase iron levels. A glass of orange juice significantly increases iron absorption.
How much iron do I need a day?
The recommended daily intake for iron is 8 mg and 18 mg for men and women, respectively.[1]
Women have much higher needs, as they lose high amounts of iron during menstruation, due to blood loss.
Pregnant women need even higher dosages of iron. They require 27 mg of iron a day!
On the other hand, we shouldn’t get extremely high amounts of iron from supplements. There has been established a maximum safe dosage of iron. It’s better to take iron from your diet.
Is orange juice a good natural source of iron?
Orange juice has low concentrations of iron. It has only 0.2 mg of iron per 100g. A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice contains about 0.5 mg of iron. This dose is about 3% of the Daily Value.[2]
Hence, orange juice isn’t a great natural source of iron. There are other fruit juices naturally high in iron. In fact, drinking a glass of a fruit juice high in iron is the easiest way to boost your daily iron intake!
Although orange juice is low in iron, it substantially contributes to maintaining high iron levels.
Orange juice is beneficial for high iron levels
Actually, orange juice is particularly high in vitamin C. A glass contains about 124 mg of vitamin C. This dose is almost 130% of Daily Value!
Vitamin C is vital for maintaining high levels of iron. It significantly increases iron absorption! Especially from plant-based sources.[3]
For this reason, many iron supplements contain vitamin C as well.
As iron from plant-based foods is about 2 times less bioavailable than animal-based sources, it’s a good idea to consume foods high in vitamin C with vegan foods high in iron.
In fact, vegans, vegetarians, and people who follow a plant-based diet should consume about 1.8 more iron than people who eat meat.
