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 1351–1400 of 3,595 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1351 | Grains, corn flour, blue, whole-grain | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 1.74 mg | 10% |
| 1352 | Indian, bread, naan, whole-wheat | Baked Products | 1.73 mg | 10% |
| 1353 | Candies, M&M's Almond Chocolate Candies | Sweets | 1.73 mg | 10% |
| 1354 | Beans, baked, canned, with wieners | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.73 mg | 10% |
| 1355 | Fast foods, breakfast, croissant with egg and cheese | Fast Foods | 1.73 mg | 10% |
| 1356 | Nuts, European chestnuts (sweet), boiled and steamed | Nuts and Seeds | 1.73 mg | 10% |
| 1357 | Mushroom, shiitake, dried | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.72 mg | 10% |
| 1358 | Pancake, blueberry, homemade | Baked Products | 1.72 mg | 10% |
| 1359 | Tourtiere, homemade | Baked Products | 1.72 mg | 10% |
| 1360 | Instant breakfast, powder, chocolate, prepared with 2% milk | Beverages | 1.71 mg | 10% |
| 1361 | Fast foods, pizza, cheese, thin crust | Fast Foods | 1.71 mg | 10% |
| 1362 | Sweet roll, cheese | Baked Products | 1.71 mg | 10% |
| 1363 | Cereal, hot, cream of wheat, instant: original, prepared | Breakfast cereals | 1.71 mg | 10% |
| 1364 | Candies, milk chocolate coated raisins | Sweets | 1.71 mg | 10% |
| 1365 | Pokeberry shoots, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1366 | Lychee, dried | Fruits and fruit juices | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1367 | Cookie, peanut butter, refrigerated dough | Baked Products | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1368 | Sweets, sugars, maple, granulated | Sweets | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1369 | Beans, baked, canned, with pork | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1370 | Snacks, corn-based, extruded, chips, unsalted | Snacks | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1371 | Candies, caramel with nuts, chocolate covered | Sweets | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1372 | Sauce, teriyaki, ready-to-serve, reduced sodium | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1373 | Garlic, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1374 | Pancake, buttermilk, homemade | Baked Products | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1375 | Sweets, confectioner's coating or chips, peanut butter | Sweets | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1376 | Sauce, teriyaki, ready-to-serve | Soups, Sauces and Gravies | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1377 | Snacks, corn nuts, barbecue | Snacks | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1378 | Refried beans, canned, vegetarian | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.70 mg | 9% |
| 1379 | Dessert, pudding, chocolate, ready-to-eat, fat free | Sweets | 1.69 mg | 9% |
| 1380 | Hearts of palm, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.69 mg | 9% |
| 1381 | Pimento, canned | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.68 mg | 9% |
| 1382 | Peas, mature seeds, sprouted, boiled, drained | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.67 mg | 9% |
| 1383 | Grains, spelt, cooked | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 1.67 mg | 9% |
| 1384 | Swamp cabbage (skunk cabbage, water convulvolus), raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.67 mg | 9% |
| 1385 | Peanuts, Virginia, oil-roasted | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.67 mg | 9% |
| 1386 | Potato pancake, homemade | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.67 mg | 9% |
| 1387 | French toast, homemade, with 2% milk and margarine | Baked Products | 1.67 mg | 9% |
| 1388 | Peanuts, Virginia, oil-roasted, salted | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.67 mg | 9% |
| 1389 | Capers, canned | Spices and Herbs | 1.67 mg | 9% |
| 1390 | Snacks, corn nuts, plain | Snacks | 1.67 mg | 9% |
| 1391 | Potato, french-fried, frozen, extruded, heated in oven | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.66 mg | 9% |
| 1392 | Peanuts, Valencia, oil-roasted | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.65 mg | 9% |
| 1393 | Peanuts, Valencia, oil-roasted, salted | Legumes and Legume Products | 1.65 mg | 9% |
| 1394 | Pasta, egg noodles, enriched, cooked, salted | Cereals, Grains and Pasta | 1.65 mg | 9% |
| 1395 | Mustard greens, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 1.64 mg | 9% |
| 1396 | Cake, yellow, homemade, without icing (frosting) | Baked Products | 1.64 mg | 9% |
| 1397 | Pancake, plain (includes buttermilk), frozen, ready-to-heat, microwave | Baked Products | 1.64 mg | 9% |
| 1398 | Taco shell, baked | Baked Products | 1.64 mg | 9% |
| 1399 | Nuts, coconut milk (liquid from grated meat and water), raw | Nuts and Seeds | 1.64 mg | 9% |
| 1400 | Sweets, sugars, brown, contains sugar and sucralose | Sweets | 1.64 mg | 9% |
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