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 851–900 of 4,377 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 851 | Schar, Gluten-Free, Wheat-Free, Classic White Bread | Baked Products | 3.17 mg | 18% |
| 852 | Focaccia, Italian flatbread, plain | Baked Products | 3.16 mg | 18% |
| 853 | Crackers, matzo, plain | Baked Products | 3.16 mg | 18% |
| 854 | Egg substitute, powder | Dairy and Egg Products | 3.16 mg | 18% |
| 855 | Bread, raisin, enriched, toasted | Baked Products | 3.15 mg | 18% |
| 856 | Bread, reduced-calorie, oat bran | Baked Products | 3.15 mg | 18% |
| 857 | Mothbeans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt | Legumes and Legume Products | 3.14 mg | 17% |
| 858 | Mothbeans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt | Legumes and Legume Products | 3.14 mg | 17% |
| 859 | Lima beans, immature seeds, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3.14 mg | 17% |
| 860 | Jute, potherb, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3.14 mg | 17% |
| 861 | Jute, potherb, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3.14 mg | 17% |
| 862 | Sorghum flour, whole-grain | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 3.14 mg | 17% |
| 863 | Cereals, QUAKER, oatmeal, REAL MEDLEYS, summer berry, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 3.13 mg | 17% |
| 864 | Candies, semisweet chocolate | Sweets | 3.13 mg | 17% |
| 865 | Candies, semisweet chocolate, made with butter | Sweets | 3.13 mg | 17% |
| 866 | Hearts of palm, canned | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3.13 mg | 17% |
| 867 | Cookies, chocolate sandwich, with creme filling, regular, chocolate-coated | Baked Products | 3.13 mg | 17% |
| 868 | Bread, oat bran | Baked Products | 3.12 mg | 17% |
| 869 | Nuts, walnuts, black, dried | Nut and Seed Products | 3.12 mg | 17% |
| 870 | Hazelnuts, beaked (Northern Plains Indians) | American Indian/Alaska Native Foods | 3.12 mg | 17% |
| 871 | Pasta mix, Italian four cheese lasagna, unprepared | Meals, Entrees, and Side Dishes | 3.12 mg | 17% |
| 872 | Puddings, chocolate flavor, low calorie, instant, dry mix | Sweets | 3.11 mg | 17% |
| 873 | Pancakes, whole-wheat, dry mix, incomplete, prepared | Baked Products | 3.11 mg | 17% |
| 874 | Bread, rye, toasted | Baked Products | 3.10 mg | 17% |
| 875 | Bread, whole-wheat, prepared from recipe | Baked Products | 3.10 mg | 17% |
| 876 | Bread, reduced-calorie, rye | Baked Products | 3.10 mg | 17% |
| 877 | Lentils, sprouted, cooked, stir-fried, without salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3.10 mg | 17% |
| 878 | Dandelion greens, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3.10 mg | 17% |
| 879 | Lentils, sprouted, cooked, stir-fried, with salt | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 3.10 mg | 17% |
| 880 | Cookies, graham crackers, plain or honey, lowfat | Baked Products | 3.09 mg | 17% |
| 881 | Biscuits, plain or buttermilk, refrigerated dough, lower fat, baked | Baked Products | 3.09 mg | 17% |
| 882 | Bagels, oat bran | Baked Products | 3.08 mg | 17% |
| 883 | Crackers, whole-wheat, low salt | Baked Products | 3.08 mg | 17% |
| 884 | Cereals, QUAKER, oatmeal, REAL MEDLEYS, blueberry hazelnut, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 3.08 mg | 17% |
| 885 | Crackers, whole grain, sandwich-type, with peanut butter filling | Baked Products | 3.07 mg | 17% |
| 886 | Archway Home Style Cookies, Old Fashioned Windmill Cookies | Baked Products | 3.06 mg | 17% |
| 887 | Beverages, coffee and cocoa, instant, decaffeinated, with whitener and low calorie sweetener | Beverages | 3.06 mg | 17% |
| 888 | Bread, pita, whole-wheat | Baked Products | 3.06 mg | 17% |
| 889 | Nuts, pine nuts, pinyon, dried | Nut and Seed Products | 3.06 mg | 17% |
| 890 | Snacks, trail mix, regular | Snacks | 3.05 mg | 17% |
| 891 | Snacks, trail mix, regular, unsalted | Snacks | 3.05 mg | 17% |
| 892 | Garlic bread, frozen | Baked Products | 3.05 mg | 17% |
| 893 | Snacks, granola bars, hard, chocolate chip | Snacks | 3.05 mg | 17% |
| 894 | Cereals, corn grits, white, regular and quick, enriched, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 3.05 mg | 17% |
| 895 | Pancakes, special dietary, dry mix | Baked Products | 3.05 mg | 17% |
| 896 | Pancakes, plain, dry mix, incomplete (includes buttermilk) | Baked Products | 3.05 mg | 17% |
| 897 | Cowpeas, catjang, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt | Legumes and Legume Products | 3.05 mg | 17% |
| 898 | Cowpeas, catjang, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt | Legumes and Legume Products | 3.05 mg | 17% |
| 899 | Bread, egg | Baked Products | 3.04 mg | 17% |
| 900 | Crackers, rye, wafers, seasoned | Baked Products | 3.04 mg | 17% |
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