Iron-rich foods fall into two categories: heme and nonheme iron. The body best absorbs heme iron, found in animal-based foods, rather than nonheme iron, found in plant-based foods and iron supplement pills. For individuals who need to raise or maintain dietary iron levels, the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest either food source. Age and gender determine the quantity needed, but the FDA suggests an average daily value of 18 mg of iron as appropriate for ages 4 and up, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Consumers will find nutrition information that relates to this average on food package labels.
Meats
Animal livers store iron, which makes chicken and beef liver, for example, rich food sources of dietary iron for humans. While 3-oz. servings of chicken livers have 12 mg of iron, beef liver contains 5 mg--and is still an iron-rich food, providing over 25 percent of total daily needs. In general, according to the USDA Nutrient Database, beef cuts have the most iron, followed by lamb. Dark poultry meat has greater iron content than white meat. Pork has the lowest iron levels. Most meat sources, including eggs, contain between 1 mg and 3 mg of heme iron per serving.
Seafood
Mollusks represent the richest seafood iron source, with fresh clams and oysters providing 12mg and 6 mg per 3 oz. Alaska king crab, shrimp and blue crab provide as much as 2 mg in similar serving sizes. Among fish, orange roughy, salmon, tuna, swordfish and sardines have 1 mg to 2 mg of iron content, per the USDA.
Grain Foods
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that whole grains such as brown rice, oats, millet and wheat have significant nonheme iron content. Fortified breakfast cereals made with whole wheat can deliver up to 100 percent of the FDA daily value. Malt-o-Meal, Kellogg's Product 19 and General Mills Total cereals offer 18 mg per recommended portion.
Legumes
Legumes follow fortified cereals among iron-rich foods derived from plants, according to the USDA. Cooked soybeans have 9 mg of iron in one cup. Soy products such as soymilk, veggie burgers and tofu are also important nonheme iron sources. Kidney, black, pinto and lima beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas and lentils provide between 4 mg and 7 mg of iron each.
Vegetables
The USDA reports that baked potato skins contain 4 mg of iron. Eating the inside flesh, too, adds another 1 mg to the dish's iron value. Spinach is a famous iron-rich food among veggie sources, which also include kale, collard greens, asparagus and broccoli. Because cooking concentrates the nutrients in greens, 1 cup of cooked spinach provides 6 mg, or nearly eight times the iron content of raw spinach.
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