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 4001–4050 of 6,739 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4001 | Candies, TOOTSIE ROLL, chocolate-flavor roll | Sweets | 0.80 mg | 4% | USDA_SR |
| 4002 | Sapodilla, raw | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 0.80 mg | 4% | USDA_SR |
| 4003 | Lemon peel, raw | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 0.80 mg | 4% | USDA_SR |
| 4004 | Pie fillings, blueberry, canned | Sweets | 0.80 mg | 4% | USDA_SR |
| 4005 | Candies, caramels, chocolate-flavor roll | Sweets | 0.80 mg | 4% | USDA_SR |
| 4006 | Soup, tomato noodle, ready-to-serve | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4007 | Beans, snap (Italian, green or yellow), frozen, microwaved | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4008 | Turnip greens, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4009 | Potato, french-fried, frozen, shoestring, heated in oven | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4010 | Pepper, sweet, red, canned, solids and liquid | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4011 | Mustard spinach (tendergreen), boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4012 | Cress, garden, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4013 | Sourdock (sorrel), native, young leaves | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4014 | Sweets, pie fillings, blueberry, canned | Sweets | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4015 | Snacks, potato chips, white, restructured, baked | Snacks | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4016 | Snacks, popcorn, sugar syrup/caramel, fat free | Snacks | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4017 | Sauce, tomato chili sauce, bottled, salted | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4018 | Grains, rice, white, short-grain, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4019 | Grains, rice, white, medium-grain, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4020 | Grains, rice, white, long-grain, regular, dry | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4021 | Grains, buckwheat groats, roasted, cooked | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4022 | Candied foods, citron | Sweets | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4023 | Snacks, potato chips, dried potatoes, plain | Snacks | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4024 | Candies, caramels, chocolate flavour roll | Sweets | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4025 | Snacks, fruit leather, bar | Snacks | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4026 | Juice drink, fruit punch, frozen concentrate | Beverages | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4027 | Juice drink, citrus fruit, frozen concentrate | Beverages | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4028 | Beets, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4029 | Pumpkin, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4030 | Sweet potato, canned, syrup pack, solids and liquid | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4031 | Radish, white icicle, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4032 | Turnip greens, boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4033 | Pepper, sweet, green, canned, solids and liquid | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4034 | New Zealand spinach, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4035 | Mustard spinach (tendergreen), boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4036 | Cress, garden, boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4037 | Chicory roots (cichorium intybus), raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4038 | Bok choy, pak-choi, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4039 | Cabbage, red, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4040 | Burdock root, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4041 | Sapodilla, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4042 | Orange peel, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4043 | Orange, with peel, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4044 | Lemon peel, raw | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4045 | Blackberry, frozen, unsweetened | Fruits and fruit juices | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4046 | Salad dressing, french, commercial, regular | Fats and Oils | 0.80 mg | 4% | CNF |
| 4047 | Sauce, barbecue, KRAFT, original | Soups, Sauces, and Gravies | 0.79 mg | 4% | USDA_SR |
| 4048 | MORI-NU, Tofu, silken, lite extra firm | Legumes and Legume Products | 0.79 mg | 4% | USDA_SR |
| 4049 | Nuts, acorns, raw | Nut and Seed Products | 0.79 mg | 4% | USDA_SR |
| 4050 | Sweet potato, cooked, candied, home-prepared | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 0.79 mg | 4% | USDA_SR |
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