Vegan foods high in Iron

Red meat and poultry dominate this ranking because their iron binds easily to the proteins that carry oxygen through your blood. Animal tissues contain haem iron, the form your body absorbs with the fewest obstacles. Plant foods hold non-haem iron, which your gut takes up less readily and only when other compounds in the meal do not block it.

Iron concentrates in organ meats, then muscle meats, then leafy greens and legumes. A single ranking cannot show you absorption rates. Two foods with the same iron count per 100 g deliver different amounts to your bloodstream depending on what else you eat alongside them.

Without animal foods, you lose access to haem iron. Plant sources and fortified foods supply non-haem iron instead, which your body absorbs at a lower rate and loses to interference from phytates, tannins and polyphenols in the same meal. Eating vitamin C alongside iron-rich plants improves uptake substantially. Many fortified cereals and plant milks contain added iron in amounts comparable to meat, but absorption remains the limiting factor on a vegetarian or vegan diet.

FDA daily value: 18 mg

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Showing 751–800 of 6,739 foods

# Food Category Per 100 g % DV Source
751 Soybeans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt Legumes and Legume Products 5.14 mg 29% USDA_SR
752 Soybeans, mature cooked, boiled, without salt Legumes and Legume Products 5.14 mg 29% USDA_SR
753 Crackers, saltines, whole wheat (includes multi-grain) Baked Products 5.14 mg 29% USDA_SR
754 Soybeans, dry, boiled, salted Legumes and Legume Products 5.14 mg 29% CNF
755 Soybeans, dry, boiled Legumes and Legume Products 5.14 mg 29% CNF
756 Cereal, ready to eat, Flax plus Raisin Bran, Nature's Path Breakfast cereals 5.14 mg 29% CNF
757 Kanpyo, (dried gourd strips) Vegetables and Vegetable Products 5.12 mg 28% USDA_SR
758 Kanpyo (dried gourd strips) Vegetables and Vegetable Products 5.12 mg 28% CNF
759 Hyacinth beans, mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.10 mg 28% USDA_SR
760 Beans, hyacinth, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.10 mg 28% CNF
761 Chickpeas, (garbanzo beans, bengal gram), dry Legumes and Legume Products 5.09 mg 28% USDA_FF
762 Jujube, Chinese, fresh, dried Fruits and Fruit Juices 5.09 mg 28% USDA_SR
763 Grains, wheat flour, white, bread flour Cereals, Grains and Pasta 5.09 mg 28% CNF
764 Peppermint, fresh Spices and Herbs 5.08 mg 28% USDA_SR
765 Peppermint, fresh Spices and Herbs 5.08 mg 28% CNF
766 Beans, pinto, mature seeds, raw (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program) Legumes and Legume Products 5.07 mg 28% USDA_SR
767 Beans, pinto, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.07 mg 28% CNF
768 Wheat flour, white (industrial), 15% protein, bleached, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.06 mg 28% USDA_SR
769 Wheat flour, white (industrial), 10% protein, bleached, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.06 mg 28% USDA_SR
770 Wheat flour, white (industrial), 9% protein, bleached, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.06 mg 28% USDA_SR
771 Wheat flour, white (industrial), 13% protein, bleached, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.06 mg 28% USDA_SR
772 Wheat flour, white (industrial), 11.5% protein, unbleached, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.06 mg 28% USDA_SR
773 Wheat flour, white (industrial), 11.5% protein, bleached, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.06 mg 28% USDA_SR
774 Wheat flour, white (industrial), 10% protein, unbleached, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 5.06 mg 28% USDA_SR
775 Beans, Dry, Red (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.05 mg 28% USDA_FF
776 Beans, Dry, Red (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 5.05 mg 28% USDA_FF
777 Snacks, bagel chips, plain Snacks 5.05 mg 28% USDA_SR
778 Snacks, bagel chips Snacks 5.05 mg 28% CNF
779 Nuts, cashew butter, plain, without salt added Nut and Seed Products 5.03 mg 28% USDA_SR
780 Nuts, cashew butter, plain Nuts and Seeds 5.03 mg 28% CNF
781 Beans, black, mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.02 mg 28% USDA_SR
782 Crackers, wheat, reduced fat Baked Products 5.02 mg 28% USDA_SR
783 Beans, black, mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.02 mg 28% CNF
784 Beans, cranberry (roman), mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.00 mg 28% USDA_SR
785 Beans, cranberry (roman), raw Legumes and Legume Products 5.00 mg 28% CNF
786 Archway Home Style Cookies, Old Fashioned Molasses Baked Products 4.99 mg 28% USDA_SR
787 Bread, sprouted wheat with added calcium and vitamin D, commercial Baked Products 4.99 mg 28% CNF
788 Grains, wheat flour, white, all purpose, unbleached Cereals, Grains and Pasta 4.99 mg 28% CNF
789 Beans, adzuki, mature seeds, raw Legumes and Legume Products 4.98 mg 28% USDA_SR
790 Beans, adzuki, raw Legumes and Legume Products 4.98 mg 28% CNF
791 Rye flour, dark Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.97 mg 28% USDA_SR
792 Beverages, Cocoa mix, low calorie, powder, with added calcium, phosphorus, aspartame, without added sodium or vitamin A Beverages 4.96 mg 28% USDA_SR
793 Beverages, Cocoa mix, no sugar added, powder Beverages 4.96 mg 28% USDA_SR
794 Hot chocolate, low calorie, with aspartame, mix, powder, with added calcium and phosphorus, without added sodium or vitamin A Beverages 4.96 mg 28% CNF
795 Hot chocolate, with aspartame, mix, powder Beverages 4.96 mg 28% CNF
796 Beans, Dry, Small Red (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 4.95 mg 28% USDA_FF
797 Beans, Dry, Small Red (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 4.95 mg 28% USDA_FF
798 Cornmeal, white, self-rising, bolted, with wheat flour added, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.95 mg 28% USDA_SR
799 Cornmeal, yellow, self-rising, bolted, with wheat flour added, enriched Cereal Grains and Pasta 4.95 mg 28% USDA_SR
800 Beans, Dry, Small White (0% moisture) Legumes and Legume Products 4.93 mg 27% USDA_FF

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