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Glycemic Index of Foods
| Food Name | Iron | Vitamin C |
| Milk, human | 0.03 | 5.0 |
| Milk | 0.03 | 0.1 |
| Milk, cow's, fluid, whole, low-sodium | 0.05 | 0.9 |
| Milk, calcium fortified, cow's, fluid, skim or nonfat | 0.04 | 1.0 |
| Milk, cow's, fluid, other than whole ("lowfat") | 0.03 | 0.1 |
| Milk, cow's, fluid, 2% fat | 0.03 | 0.2 |
| Milk, cow's, fluid, acidophilus, 2% fat | 0.03 | 0.2 |
| Milk, cow's, fluid, filled with vegetable oil | 0.05 | 0.9 |
| Milk, cow's, fluid, filled with vegetable oil, whole | 0.05 | 0.9 |
| Milk, cow's, fluid, filled with vegetable oil, lowfat | 0.03 | 0.6 |
| Milk, cow's, fluid, lactose reduced, nonfat, fortified with calcium | 0.04 | 1.0 |
| Milk, cow's, fluid, lactose reduced, 2% fat | 0.03 | 0.2 |
| Buttermilk, fluid, nonfat | 0.05 | 1.0 |
| Buttermilk, fluid, 1% fat | 0.05 | 1.0 |
|
Usage Note
- Nutrition data are calculated per 100 g (3.5 oz) of food weight unless otherwise noted.
- Click on column header to sort foods by name or by nutrient content. Click again to reverse sort order.
- Click on a number in table footer to go to a particular page.
Choose nutrition data to display
- Check or uncheck the nutrients in list below to choose which nutrition data to display.
- Abbreviations: g = gram, mg = milligram, mcg = microgram, kcal = kilocalorie, kJ = kilojoule.
Iron and Vitamin C
To be included in this database, a food must contain both iron and vitamin C.
Iron is essential to most life forms and to normal human physiology. Iron is an integral part of many proteins and enzymes that maintain good health. In humans, iron is an essential component of proteins involved in oxygen transport. It is also essential for the regulation of cell growth and differentiation. A deficiency of iron limits oxygen delivery to cells, resulting in fatigue, poor work performance, and decreased immunity. On the other hand, excess amounts of iron can result in toxicity and even death.
There are two forms of dietary iron: heme and nonheme. Heme iron is derived from hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells. Heme iron is found in animal foods that originally contained hemoglobin, such as red meats, fish, and poultry. Iron in plant foods such as lentils and beans is arranged in a chemical structure called nonheme iron. This is the form of iron added to iron-enriched and iron-fortified foods. Heme iron is absorbed better than nonheme iron, but most dietary iron is nonheme iron.
The RDA for iron is 8 mg for male adults and 18 mg for female adults up to age 50.
Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in many foods. Humans are unable to synthesize vitamin C internally, so it is an essential dietary component.
Due to its function as an antioxidant and its role in immune function, vitamin C has been promoted as a means to help prevent and/or treat numerous health conditions.
The RDA for vitamin C is 90 mg for male adults and 75 mg for female adults.
How Vitamin C Helps Iron Deficiency
Iron deficiency is a condition resulting from too little iron in the body. Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency and the leading cause of anemia in the United States.
Vitamin C helps your body absorb the non-heme iron foods you eat, especially when the food containing non-heme iron and the vitamin-C rich food are eaten at the same meal. Naturally, vitamin C and iron don't have to come from the same foods but it can be useful to know the foods that contain significant amounts of both vitamin C and iron.
For web apps related to iron and vitamin C content of foods see
our
Glycemic Index
We include the glycemic index (GI) values in this food list for the convenience of visitors who are interested in GI.
For a comprehensive discussion and large glycemic index food list see:
Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load of 3,000+ Common Foods.
Foods Richest in Iron and Vitamin C Combination
Ounce for ounce, the foods in list below contain the highest content of both iron and vitamin C.
The Vitamin C + Iron Score takes into account not only the absolute content of iron and vitamin C in a food but also their respective RDA. For comparison convenience, the scores are normalized and use a 0 to 100 scale.
Note that many of these foods are fortified breakfast cereals.
| Iron + Vitamin C Score |
| Foods Highest in Iron and Vitamin C Combination |
| 94 |
| Chives, dried or dehydrated |
| 91 |
| Complete Oat Bran Flakes, Kellogg's (formerly Common Sense Oat Bran, plain) |
| 89 |
| Complete Wheat Bran Flakes, Kellogg's (formerly 40% Bran Flakes) |
| 51 |
| Whole wheat cereal with apples, baby food, dry, instant |
| 43 |
| Vegetable mixture, dried |
| 41 |
| Bran Flakes (formerly 40% Bran Flakes) |
| 39 |
| Meal replacement, protein type, milk- and soy-based, powdered, not reconstituted |
| 39 |
| Chocolate, instant, dry mix, fortified with vitamins and minerals, not reconstituted |
| 39 |
| Milk, malted, dry mix, fortified, not reconstituted, chocolate |
| 38 |
| Smart Start, Kellogg's |
| 35 |
| Malt-O-Meal Toasted Oat Cereal |
| 35 |
| Nu System Cuisine Toasted Grain Circles |
| 34 |
| Malt-O-Meal Toasty O's |
| 33 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, from canned |
| 33 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, from canned, fat not added in cooking |
| 32 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, from canned, fat added in cooking |
| Iron + Vitamin C Score |
| Foods Highest in Iron and Vitamin C Combination |
| 31 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, from fresh, fat not added in cooking |
| 31 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, from frozen, fat not added in cooking |
| 31 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, from fresh |
| 31 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, from frozen |
| 31 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, fat not added in cooking |
| 31 |
| Milk, malted, dry mix, fortified, not reconstituted, flavors other than chocolate |
| 30 |
| Quaker Oatmeal Squares (formerly Quaker Oat Squares) |
| 30 |
| Meal replacement, protein type, milk-based, powdered, not reconstituted |
| 30 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, from frozen, fat added in cooking |
| 30 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, from fresh, fat added in cooking |
| 30 |
| Peppers, hot, cooked, fat added in cooking |
| 30 |
| Quaker Oat Bran Cereal |
| 30 |
| Pepper, hot chili, raw |
| 29 |
| Lychee, dried (lychee nuts) |
| Iron + Vitamin C Score |
| Foods Highest in Iron and Vitamin C Combination |
| 25 |
| Malt-O-meal Tootie Fruities |
| 25 |
| Dynatrim, meal replacement, powder |
| 24 |
| Harmony cereal, General Mills |
| 23 |
| Instant breakfast, powder, not reconstituted |
| 23 |
| PowerBar (fortified high energy bar) |
| 23 |
| Frosted oat cereal with marshmallows |
| 23 |
| Chocolate flavored frosted puffed corn cereal |
| 23 |
| Gerber Graduates Finger Snacks Cereal, baby food |
| 23 |
| Gerber Finger Foods, Puffs, baby food |
| 23 |
| Malt-O-Meal Frosted Flakes |
| 23 |
| Malt-O-Meal Marshmallow Mateys |
| 23 |
| Instant breakfast, powder, sweetened with low calorie sweetener, not reconstituted |
| 22 |
| Nutrient supplement, milk-based, high protein, powdered, not reconstituted |
| 21 |
| Character cereals, TV or movie, Kelloggs |
| 21 |
| All-Bran with Extra Fiber |
| 20 |
| Scooby Doo Cinnamon Marshmallow Cereal, Kellogg's |
| 20 |
| Oh's, Fruitangy, Quaker |
| 20 |
| Marshmallow Safari, Quaker |
| Iron + Vitamin C Score |
| Foods Highest in Iron and Vitamin C Combination |
| 20 |
| Malt-O-Meal Apple and Cinnamon Toasty O's |
| 19 |
| Sweet Crunch, Quaker (formerly called Popeye) |
| 19 |
| Protein supplement, milk-based, powdered, not reconstituted |
| 18 |
| Clams, baked or broiled |
| 17 |
| Parsley, cooked (assume fat not added in cooking) |
| 17 |
| French Toast Crunch, General Mills |
| 17 |
| Character cereals, TV or movie, General Mills |
| 17 |
| Malt-O-Meal Honey and Nut Toasty O's |
| 17 |
| Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs cereal |
| 17 |
| Cinnamon Grahams, General Mills |
| 17 |
| Apple Cinnamon Cheerios |
| 17 |
| All-Bran Bran Buds, Kellogg's (formerly Bran Buds) |
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