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Usage Notes

• Iron (measured in milligrams) and calories are calculated per 100g of food.
• This iron content of foods database contains approximately 7,000 most common food items.
• Click on column header to sort foods by name or by iron or calories.
• Pie chart shows relative contributions to total calories from carbohydrate, protein and fat (and alcohol, if exists).

Iron in Diet

Iron is a mineral found in every cell of the body. Iron is considered an essential mineral because it is needed to make part of blood cells.

Function

The human body needs iron to make the oxygen-carrying proteins hemoglobin and myoglobin. Hemoglobin is found in red blood cells and myoglobin is found in muscles. Iron also makes up part of many proteins in the body.

Iron-deficiency anemia

Iron-deficiency anemia is a common, easily treated condition that occurs if you don't have enough iron in your body. Low iron levels usually are due to blood loss, poor diet, or an inability to absorb enough iron from food.
Iron-deficiency anemia is a common type of anemia. The term "anemia" usually refers to a condition in which your blood has a lower than normal number of red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen and remove carbon dioxide (a waste product) from your body.
Anemia also can occur if your red blood cells don't contain enough hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.
Iron-deficiency anemia can cause fatigue (tiredness), shortness of breath, chest pain, and other symptoms. Severe iron-deficiency anemia can lead to heart problems, infections, problems with growth and development in children, and other complications.
Infants and young children and women are the two groups at highest risk for iron-deficiency anemia.
Iron-deficiency anemia usually develops over time if your body doesn't have enough iron to build healthy red blood cells. Without enough iron, your body starts using the iron it has stored. Soon, the stored iron gets used up.
After the stored iron is gone, your body makes fewer red blood cells. The red blood cells it does make have less hemoglobin than normal.

Additional online IRON content of foods databases

The following databases contain iron data in foods common in the UK or in France:

• UK Nutrient Databank (choose Minerals database)
• Teneur en FER des aliments

Partner Websites

Please bookmark our partner websites to use when any of our nutrition calculators is not available or overloaded.

Iron-Rich Foods

List of foods highest in iron content, excluding most iron-fortified breakfast cereals. Iron content is in milligrams per 100 grams of food weight.

Foods Highest in Iron

Iron

Spices, thyme, dried

123.6

Spices, basil, dried

89.8

Spearmint, dried

87.5

Spices, marjoram, dried

82.7

Whale, beluga, meat, dried (Alaska Native)

72.4

Spices, cumin seed

66.4

Parsley, freeze-dried

53.9

Seal, bearded (Oogruk), meat, dried (Alaska Native)

49.6

Spices, dill weed, dried

48.8

Babyfood, cereal, brown rice, dry, instant

47.6

Spices, celery seed

44.9

Beef, variety meats and by-products, spleen, raw

44.6

Spices, bay leaf

43.0

Walrus, meat, dried (Alaska Native)

43.0

Spices, coriander leaf, dried

42.5

Lamb, variety meats and by-products, spleen, raw

41.9

Spices, turmeric, ground

41.4

Beef, variety meats and by-products, spleen, cooked, braised

39.4

Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, Honey Bunches of Oats, with almonds

38.8

Lamb, variety meats and by-products, spleen, cooked, braised

38.7

Spices, savory, ground

37.9

Babyfood, rice and apples, dry

37.0

Spices, anise seed

37.0

Spices, oregano, dried

36.8

Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened, HERSHEY'S European Style Cocoa

36.0

Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, HONEY BUNCHES OF OATS, honey roasted

36.0

Spices, poultry seasoning

35.3

Spices, fenugreek seed

33.5

Seal, bearded (Oogruk), meat, partially dried (Alaska Native)

33.0

Foods Highest in Iron

Iron

Spices, tarragon, dried

32.3

Spices, chervil, dried

32.0

Goose, liver, raw

30.5

Duck, domesticated, liver, raw

30.5

Spices, curry powder

29.6

Spices, rosemary, dried

29.3

Seaweed, spirulina, dried

28.5

Spices, sage, ground

28.1

Cereals ready-to-eat, POST Banana Nut Crunch

28.0

Mollusks, clam, mixed species, cooked, moist heat

28.0

Whale, beluga, meat, raw (Alaska Native)

25.9

Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, liver, raw

23.3

Babyfood, baked product, finger snacks cereal

22.5

Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, spleen, raw

22.3

Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, spleen, cooked, braised

22.2

Spices, parsley, dried

22.0

Seaweed, agar, dried

21.4

Spices, paprika

21.1

Oopah (tunicate), whole animal (Alaska Native)

20.7

LOMA LINDA Redi-Burger, canned, unprepared

20.0

Chives, freeze-dried

20.0

Spices, ginger, ground

19.8

Spices, pumpkin pie spice

19.7

Seal, ringed, meat (Alaska Native)

19.6

Seeds, sesame butter, paste

19.2

Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, lungs, raw

18.9

Spices, fennel seed

18.5

Rice bran, crude

18.5

Formulated bar, MARS SNACKFOOD US, SNICKERS Marathon Honey Nut Oat Bar

18.2

Soy protein isolate, PROTEIN TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, ProPlus

18.0

Formulated bar, MARS SNACKFOOD US, SNICKERS Marathon Double Chocolate Nut Bar

18.0

Foods High in Iron

Iron

Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, liver, cooked, braised

17.9

Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, GREAT GRAINS Crunchy Pecan Cereal

17.6

Peanut butter, chunky, vitamin and mineral fortified

17.5

Thyme, fresh

17.5

Baking chocolate, unsweetened, squares

17.4

Malted drink mix, chocolate, with added nutrients, powder

17.4

Spices, chili powder

17.3

Seal, bearded (Oogruk), meat, dried, in oil (Alaska Native)

17.0

Seal, bearded (Oogruk), meat, low quadrant, raw (Alaska Native)

17.0

Cereals ready-to-eat, POST, Great Grains, Raisin, Date & Pecan

16.7

Peanut butter, smooth, vitamin and mineral fortified

16.6

Pork, fresh, variety meats and by-products, lungs, cooked, braised

16.4

Spices, dill seed

16.3

Spices, coriander seed

16.3

Formulated bar, MARS SNACKFOOD US, SNICKERS Marathon Energy Bar, all flavors

16.3

Spices, caraway seed

16.2

Cockles, raw (Alaska Native)

16.2

Soy protein isolate, PROTEIN TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL, SUPRO

16.0

Chiton, leathery, gumboots (Alaska Native)

16.0

Cereals ready-to-eat, frosted oat cereal with marshmallows

15.9

Soybeans, mature seeds, raw

15.7

Caribou, liver, raw (Alaska Native)

15.7

Cocoa, dry powder, unsweetened, processed with alkali

15.5

Seeds, sesame flour, high-fat

15.2

Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, roasted and toasted

14.8

Formulated bar, MARS SNACKFOOD US, SNICKERS MARATHON MULTIGRAIN CRUNCH BAR

14.7

Seeds, sesame meal, partially defatted

14.6

Seeds, sesame seeds, whole, dried

14.6

Cocoa, dry powder, hi-fat or breakfast, plain

14.5

Soy protein isolate, potassium type

14.5

Soy protein isolate

14.5

Foods High in Iron

Iron

Cocoa, dry powder, hi-fat or breakfast, processed with alkali

14.5

Soy protein isolate, potassium type, crude protein basis

14.5

Walrus, liver, raw (Alaska Native)

14.4

Spices, pepper, white

14.3

Seeds, sesame flour, partially defatted

14.3

Seeds, sesame flour, low-fat

14.2

Formulated bar, LUNA BAR, NUTZ OVER CHOCOLATE

14.2

Spices, cardamom

14.0

Mollusks, clam, mixed species, cooked, breaded and fried

13.9

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