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 1201–1250 of 2,883 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1201 | Sweets, sugars, maple, hard | Sweets | 1.61 mg | 9% |
| 1202 | Elderberry, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1203 | Snacks, tortilla chips, low fat, baked without fat | Snacks | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1204 | Snacks, tortilla chips, unsalted, low fat | Snacks | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1205 | Grains, rice, white, long-grain, pre-cooked or instant, enriched, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1206 | Passion fruit, purple, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1207 | Sweet roll, cinnamon with raisins, commercial | Baked Products | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1208 | Nuts, almond paste, sweetened | Nuts and Seeds | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1209 | Beans, baked, canned, with beef | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1210 | Peas, pigeon, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1211 | Nuts, ginkgo nuts, dried | Nuts and Seeds | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1212 | Grains, rice, white, glutinous, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1213 | Chives, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.60 mg | 9% |
| 1214 | Pie, cherry, commercial, 2 crust | Baked Products | 1.59 mg | 9% |
| 1215 | Spinach, canned, solids and liquid | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.58 mg | 9% |
| 1216 | Snacks, rice cakes, brown rice, sesame seed | Snacks | 1.58 mg | 9% |
| 1217 | Grains, tapioca, pearl, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 1.58 mg | 9% |
| 1218 | Peanuts, all types, dry roasted | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.58 mg | 9% |
| 1219 | Spinach, canned, solids and liquids, unsalted | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.58 mg | 9% |
| 1220 | Snacks, rice cakes, brown rice, sesame seed, unsalted | Snacks | 1.58 mg | 9% |
| 1221 | Cake, sponge, homemade | Baked Products | 1.58 mg | 9% |
| 1222 | Peanuts, all types, dry-roasted, salted | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.58 mg | 9% |
| 1223 | Cake, yellow (plus streusel), pudding-type, dry mix, unprepared | Baked Products | 1.57 mg | 9% |
| 1224 | Cake, pound, homemade | Baked Products | 1.57 mg | 9% |
| 1225 | Beans, great northern, canned, solids and liquid, no salt added | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.57 mg | 9% |
| 1226 | Peas, pigeon, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.57 mg | 9% |
| 1227 | Beans, great northern, canned, solids and liquid, reduced sodium | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.57 mg | 9% |
| 1228 | Peas, pigeon, boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.57 mg | 9% |
| 1229 | Grains, rice, white, glutinous, flour | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 1.57 mg | 9% |
| 1230 | Hummus, homemade | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.56 mg | 9% |
| 1231 | Candies, fondant, sweet chocolate coated | Sweets | 1.56 mg | 9% |
| 1232 | Taro, Tahitian, cooked | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.56 mg | 9% |
| 1233 | Taro, tahitian, cooked, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.56 mg | 9% |
| 1234 | Granola bar, cereal bar, fruit-filled, all flavours | Baked Products | 1.56 mg | 9% |
| 1235 | Beans, cranberry, canned, with solids and liquid | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.55 mg | 9% |
| 1236 | Broadbeans (fava beans), in pod, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.55 mg | 9% |
| 1237 | Snacks, vegetable chips | Snacks | 1.55 mg | 9% |
| 1238 | Onion, dehydrated flakes | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.55 mg | 9% |
| 1239 | Snacks, SUNCHIPS, French Onion flavour | Snacks | 1.55 mg | 9% |
| 1240 | Snacks, corn-based, extruded, chips, barbecue | Snacks | 1.54 mg | 9% |
| 1241 | Peas, green, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.54 mg | 9% |
| 1242 | Peas, green, boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.54 mg | 9% |
| 1243 | Currant, european black, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 1.54 mg | 9% |
| 1244 | Peas and onions, frozen, unprepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.54 mg | 9% |
| 1245 | Peas, green, frozen, unprepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.53 mg | 8% |
| 1246 | Snacks, tortilla chips, plain | Snacks | 1.52 mg | 8% |
| 1247 | Succotash, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.52 mg | 8% |
| 1248 | Peas, green, frozen, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.52 mg | 8% |
| 1249 | Peanuts, all types, oil-roasted | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.52 mg | 8% |
| 1250 | Peanuts, all types, oil-roasted, salted | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.52 mg | 8% |
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