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 251–300 of 4,377 foods
| # | Food | Category | Per 100 g | % DV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 251 | Infant Formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, Premium, Infant, powder | Baby Foods | 9.20 mg | 51% |
| 252 | Infant Formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, Premium LIPIL, Infant, powder | Baby Foods | 9.20 mg | 51% |
| 253 | Infant Formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, Newborn, with ARA and DHA, powder | Baby Foods | 9.20 mg | 51% |
| 254 | Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, Enfamil for Supplementing, powder, with ARA and DHA, not reconstituted | Baby Foods | 9.20 mg | 51% |
| 255 | Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, AR, powder, with ARA and DHA | Baby Foods | 9.16 mg | 51% |
| 256 | Infant formula, ABBOTT NUTRITION, ALIMENTUM ADVANCE, with iron, powder, not reconstituted, with DHA and ARA | Baby Foods | 9.16 mg | 51% |
| 257 | Infant formula, PBM PRODUCTS, store brand, soy, powder | Baby Foods | 9.10 mg | 51% |
| 258 | Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, NUTRAMIGEN WITH LGG, with iron, powder, not reconstituted, with ARA and DHA | Baby Foods | 9.10 mg | 51% |
| 259 | Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, Raisin and Spice, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 9.10 mg | 51% |
| 260 | Cereals ready-to-eat, wheat germ, toasted, plain | Breakfast Cereals | 9.09 mg | 50% |
| 261 | Tomatoes, sun-dried | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 9.09 mg | 50% |
| 262 | Elk, free range, ground, cooked patties (Shoshone Bannock) | American Indian/Alaska Native Foods | 9.06 mg | 50% |
| 263 | Sea lion, Steller, liver (Alaska Native) | American Indian/Alaska Native Foods | 9.00 mg | 50% |
| 264 | Babyfood, cereal, rice with pears and apple, dry, instant fortified | Baby Foods | 9.00 mg | 50% |
| 265 | Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, NUTRAMIGEN, PurAmino, powder, not reconstituted | Baby Foods | 9.00 mg | 50% |
| 266 | Infant formula, GERBER, GOOD START 2 SOY, with iron, powder | Baby Foods | 9.00 mg | 50% |
| 267 | Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, Enfamil Enspire Powder, with ARA and DHA, not reconstituted | Baby Foods | 9.00 mg | 50% |
| 268 | Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, PREGESTIMIL, with iron, powder, with ARA and DHA, not reconstituted | Baby Foods | 9.00 mg | 50% |
| 269 | Infant formula, NESTLE, GOOD START ESSENTIALS SOY, with iron, powder | Baby Foods | 9.00 mg | 50% |
| 270 | Infant formula, NESTLE, GOOD START SOY, with ARA and DHA, powder | Baby Foods | 9.00 mg | 50% |
| 271 | Cereals ready-to-eat, Post, Waffle Crisp | Breakfast Cereals | 9.00 mg | 50% |
| 272 | Toddler drink, MEAD JOHNSON, PurAmino Toddler Powder, with ARA and DHA, not reconstituted | Baby Foods | 9.00 mg | 50% |
| 273 | Seeds, sesame butter, tahini, from roasted and toasted kernels (most common type) | Nut and Seed Products | 8.95 mg | 50% |
| 274 | Seaweed, irishmoss, raw | Vegetables and Vegetable Products | 8.90 mg | 49% |
| 275 | Infant formula, MEAD JOHNSON, ENFAMIL, ENFACARE, with iron, powder, with ARA and DHA | Baby Foods | 8.90 mg | 49% |
| 276 | Beverages, tea, instant, sweetened with sodium saccharin, lemon-flavored, powder | Beverages | 8.87 mg | 49% |
| 277 | Beverages, tea, instant, decaffeinated, lemon, diet | Beverages | 8.87 mg | 49% |
| 278 | Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, weight control, cinnamon | Breakfast Cereals | 8.84 mg | 49% |
| 279 | Seeds, pumpkin and squash seed kernels, dried | Nut and Seed Products | 8.82 mg | 49% |
| 280 | Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, apples and cinnamon, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 8.78 mg | 49% |
| 281 | Cereals, QUAKER, Weight Control Instant Oatmeal, banana bread | Breakfast Cereals | 8.78 mg | 49% |
| 282 | Snacks, granola bar, GENERAL MILLS, NATURE VALLEY, CHEWY TRAIL MIX | Snacks | 8.71 mg | 48% |
| 283 | Beans, kidney, royal red, mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 8.70 mg | 48% |
| 284 | Beans, black turtle, mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 8.70 mg | 48% |
| 285 | Yardlong beans, mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 8.61 mg | 48% |
| 286 | Natto | Legumes and Legume Products | 8.60 mg | 48% |
| 287 | Snacks, KELLOGG, KELLOGG'S Low Fat Granola Bar, Crunchy Almond/Brown Sugar | Snacks | 8.60 mg | 48% |
| 288 | Protein supplement, milk based, Muscle Milk, powder | Dairy and Egg Products | 8.57 mg | 48% |
| 289 | Corn flour, masa, enriched, white | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 8.50 mg | 47% |
| 290 | Corn flour, yellow, masa, enriched | Cereal Grains and Pasta | 8.50 mg | 47% |
| 291 | Cereals, oats, instant, fortified, with cinnamon and spice, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 8.46 mg | 47% |
| 292 | Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, Honeycomb Cereal | Breakfast Cereals | 8.44 mg | 47% |
| 293 | Baobab powder | Fruits and Fruit Juices | 8.42 mg | 47% |
| 294 | Cereals ready-to-eat, SUN COUNTRY, KRETSCHMER Wheat Germ, Regular | Breakfast Cereals | 8.34 mg | 46% |
| 295 | Spices, cinnamon, ground | Spices and Herbs | 8.32 mg | 46% |
| 296 | Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, Cinnamon-Spice, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 8.31 mg | 46% |
| 297 | Egg, whole, dried, stabilized, glucose reduced | Dairy and Egg Products | 8.28 mg | 46% |
| 298 | Cowpeas, common (blackeyes, crowder, southern), mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 8.27 mg | 46% |
| 299 | Cereals, QUAKER, Instant Oatmeal, maple and brown sugar, dry | Breakfast Cereals | 8.22 mg | 46% |
| 300 | Beans, kidney, all types, mature seeds, raw | Legumes and Legume Products | 8.20 mg | 46% |
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