New research has found that if you're predisposed to develop cancer, eating too much iron can increase your risk even more.

A report by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine revealed that people with gene mutations associated with abnormally high iron levels are 40 percent more likely than others to develop colon cancer.

About 15 percent of Americans are genetically predisposed to develop colon cancer, researchers said.

The Recommended Daily Allowance of iron is 8 milligrams for men and 18 milligrams for pre-menopausal women. It wouldn't hurt to tally up your intake.

Iron it Out

Here are some iron-rich foods you might want to cut back on if you suspect you're getting too much of the mineral:

Food	Iron/serving
Hamburger	3.5 mg
Chicken livers	7.4 mg
Oysters	5.5 mg
Dried apricots	3.6 mg
Bran flake cereal	17.7 mg
Beef liver	6.6 mg
Roasted turkey	5.1 mg