Breast Iron Calculator

Iron is one of the most common nutritional shortfalls, and keeping an eye on iron-rich foods is a smart habit for athletes, vegetarians, women of childbearing age, and anyone managing fatigue or low energy. The Breast Iron Calculator estimates the iron content of a serving of breast meat — chicken, turkey, or duck — based on the amount you plan to eat.

Enter a serving size in grams or ounces, choose the breast type, and instantly see the total iron, its share of the Daily Value, and (if you enable the optional profile) how much of your personal iron target that serving covers. The tool also tells you how much breast meat would be needed to reach your full daily iron requirement. This makes it easy to build balanced meals without rummaging through nutrition databases.

Use the quick-amount buttons to test common portions, and treat the results as a close estimate — actual iron can vary with cut, cooking method, and brand. For precise clinical guidance, always pair this tool with advice from a healthcare professional.

🍗 Serving Size

🥩 Breast Type

Compare with my RDA (optional)

Quick amounts

—

Serving weight—

Iron per serving—

Daily Value (18 mg)—

RDA target—

% RDA met—

Amount needed for 100% RDA—

Enter an amount and press Calculate Iron.

Step-by-Step Guide

This calculator is designed to be quick and practical:

Enter the amount of breast meat in the first field. A typical single serving is 150 g, but you can enter any amount.
Choose g for grams or oz for ounces. If you use ounces, the tool converts to grams (1 oz = 28.35 g).
Select the type of breast meat — cooked chicken, raw chicken, cooked turkey, or cooked duck — from the dropdown.
Optional: tick the RDA comparison box and choose your life stage to see how the serving compares with your recommended daily intake.
Click Calculate Iron. The result panel shows total iron, Daily Value percentage, and RDA details.

Tip: Use the quick-amount pills to test 100 g, 150 g, 200 g, 4 oz, or 6 oz without typing.

The Math Behind It

Iron per serving = (serving weight ÷ 100) × iron per 100 g

Each breast type has a typical iron density based on USDA FoodData Central averages. The calculator uses these representative values: cooked chicken breast ≈ 0.9 mg/100 g; raw chicken breast ≈ 0.5 mg/100 g; cooked turkey breast ≈ 1.0 mg/100 g; cooked duck breast ≈ 2.5 mg/100 g.

After computing iron in milligrams, the tool compares it with the FDA nutrition label Daily Value for iron, which is 18 mg. When you enable the RDA profile, it uses the National Institutes of Health recommended dietary allowances: adult men 8 mg; women 19–50 years 18 mg; women 51+ years 8 mg; pregnancy 27 mg; lactation 9 mg; teen males 11 mg; teen females 15 mg; children 1–3 years 7 mg.

With the profile on, the calculator also estimates the serving size needed for 100% of your target: target RDA ÷ (iron per 100 g ÷ 100).

Reference Values by Breast Type

Breast type	Typical iron (mg/100 g)	150 g serving (mg)
Chicken breast, cooked	0.9	1.35
Chicken breast, raw	0.5	0.75
Turkey breast, cooked	1.0	1.50
Duck breast, cooked	2.5	3.75

These are typical averages, not exact lab values for a particular package or cut.

Worked Examples

Example 1: 200 g cooked chicken breast. Iron = (200 ÷ 100) × 0.9 = 1.8 mg. This is 10% of the 18 mg Daily Value and 10% of an adult woman's 18 mg RDA.

Example 2: 6 oz cooked turkey breast. Convert first: 6 × 28.35 = 170.1 g. Iron = 1.701 / 100 × 1.0 ≈ 1.70 mg. This is about 9.4% of Daily Value and 21.3% of an adult male's 8 mg RDA.

Example 3: 150 g cooked duck breast. Iron = 1.5 × 2.5 = 3.75 mg. This is 20.8% of Daily Value and 13.9% of the 27 mg pregnancy target.

Factors Affecting Accuracy

Cooking method changes moisture content; roasted meat loses water, so a cooked 100 g portion contains more dry matter than 100 g raw.
Skin, marinades, and seasoning add minimal iron but can change weight, lowering apparent iron per 100 g if you eat the whole serving.
Breed, farming practices, and product enrichment cause natural variation between brands.
Iron absorption depends on your body's stores, the presence of vitamin C, and compounds in foods like tea and coffee. Heme iron from meat is absorbed more readily than non-heme plant iron.
These results are estimates for meal planning, not a medical diagnosis. Persistent fatigue, pale skin, or suspected deficiency should be discussed with a clinician.

Note: The calculator uses the standard 18 mg Daily Value for labeling and NIH RDA values for the optional profile. Your individual target may differ based on medical conditions, medications, or blood loss.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the RDA target for adult women so much higher than men's? Menstrual iron losses increase requirements for women of reproductive age, which is why the RDA is 18 mg for women 19–50 and only 8 mg for adult men and for women 51+.

Do I really need about 2 kg of cooked chicken breast to meet an adult woman's RDA? Yes, if chicken breast were the only source. A typical 150 g portion delivers only about 1.35 mg. This is why variety matters: legumes, fortified grains, spinach, and shellfish supply iron too. You can compare another iron source using the Bagel Iron Calculator.

Is it better to eat chicken breast raw? No. Cooking improves safety and your body absorbs heme iron well from cooked meat. Raw chicken also carries food-safety risks. Use raw values only because portions are sometimes weighed before cooking.

Where do the iron numbers come from? The ingredient values are based on typical entries in USDA FoodData Central, and the RDA figures come from the National Institutes of Health Iron Fact Sheet.