Diet Food For Breakfast # The Benefits of Iron-Rich Cereals for a Balanced Diet Published: 12/03/2026 AuthorBy Nestlé Cereals Reading time: 5 min. Share it with your friends ![Cereal Toppings with iron](/au/sites/g/files/qirczx966/files/styles/1_1_768px_width/public/2022-07/1182080403%20%281%29.jpg.webp?h=b6ce0c58&itok=YmvTyNe7) One of the essential nutrients that our bodies need for development is iron. It’s a mineral that can be found in a variety of plant and animal foods, but some people don’t get enough iron in their diet. Nestlé’s fortified cereals can be a solution to help you increase your iron intake. Iron is important because your body needs it to create haemoglobin. This is the protein that is an essential component of red blood cells. It transports oxygen around the body. You also use iron to make myoglobin, which carries oxygen into your muscles. It’s also a part of several hormones. You need sufficient oxygen to reach your cells for them to function, so having enough haemoglobin is important to good health. It’s even important in brain function. ![How much iron you need depends on your age and sex](/au/sites/g/files/qirczx966/files/styles/1_1_768px_width/public/2022-07/Iron%20Needs_LIGHT.png.webp?h=3f6d300e&itok=CBimeX7a) ## How much iron you need depends on your age and sex. An adult man needs about 8 milligrams (mg) but a woman needs more than double that, at 18 mg. And if a woman becomes pregnant, her demand for iron soars, needing 27 mg every day. Menstruating women will also need an iron-rich diet because of blood loss. If you don’t eat meat, you’ll need twice as much iron because your body cannot absorb iron from plant sources as well as iron from animals. If you don’t take in enough iron, you can suffer from an iron deficiency, which can cause anaemia where your body isn’t able to make enough haemoglobin. You may not realise you’re suffering from iron deficiency because you just feel a bit tired and run down. But continued deficiency can leave you feeling breathless, impair your memory and other cognitive functions, and even make you susceptible to infection. ![Iron and cereals - Fortification](/au/sites/g/files/qirczx966/files/styles/1_1_768px_width/public/2022-07/Imagen%201.png.webp?h=63fa964b&itok=htzZ0Htm) ## So how much iron will you find in your favourite Nestlé breakfast cereals? If the kids love their cereal chocolatey, they can still enjoy a breakfast that is source of iron, with a 30g portion of [NESQUIK Cereal](/au/cereals/nesquik) delivering a bit more than 3 mg. With five-year-olds needing 6.1mg a day, that’s a great boost at breakfast time. ## TO INCREASE YOUR IRON INTAKE EVEN MORE, ADD SOME FRUITS, NUTS OR SEEDS TO YOUR NESTLÉ FORTIFIED BREAKFAST CEREALS Seeds make a tasty breakfast topper and offer a good iron boost. A tablespoon of pumpkin or flax seeds can add another microgram of iron. Dried fruit is also packed with iron, particularly apricots and raisins. And remember to drink a glass of orange juice with your breakfast or add some blueberries to your cereals. The vitamin C they contain helps your body to absorb plant iron. The latest **National Diet and Nutrition Survey** revealed that nearly 25% of women are at risk of iron deficiency. So, for an easy boost to your iron intake, consider including cereals that are source of iron such as Nestlé fortified breakfast cereals. [![Our fortified cereals – it’s all about defences!](/au/sites/g/files/qirczx966/files/styles/1_1_768px_width/public/2022-06/FORTIFICATIONS.jpg.webp?h=6a8f0480&itok=6i5F9oLf)](https://www.nestle-cereals.com/au/nutrition/fortified-cereal) ## [Our fortified cereals – it’s all about defences!](https://www.nestle-cereals.com/au/nutrition/fortified-cereal) The word ‘[fortification](/au/nutrition/fortified-cereal)’ means ‘a defensive wall or other reinforcement built to strengthen a place against attack’ – so what has that got to do with cereals? Well, when cereals are ‘fortified’, it means they contain added vitamins and minerals to help our body work well. [Why fortify cereals?](/au/nutrition/fortified-cereal) ## RELATED ARTICLES [![What is a balanced breakfast](/au/sites/g/files/qirczx966/files/styles/1_1_450px_width/public/2022-10/brooke-lark-nTZOILVZuOg-unsplash.jpg.webp?h=f5ac12e7&itok=iNp4_AoA)](https://www.nestle-cereals.com/au/nutrition/what-is-a-balanced-diet) Reading time: 5 min. 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