Lots of foods have high iron content, but these foods sources are only valuable when your body uses their dietary iron efficiently. Of the two types of iron, you absorb heme iron, derived from animal-based foods, most readily. You absorb nonheme iron from plant-based foods less easily, but it still becomes available to your metabolism.
More importantly, nonheme foods contribute to your overall nutritional profile and may be the favorites that you choose most often. Getting 18 mg of usable iron from a variety of foods will satisfy your needs for the day, according to the FDA.
Bagels
Reach for bagels often to help satisfy your daily requirement for iron. In addition to iron-enriched wheat flour, bagels may contain eggs, sesame seeds or other iron food sources. The USDA Nutrient Database records iron content at up to 5 mg per bagel.
You can top bagels with iron foods such as tuna, bean spreads or almond butter for a larger mineral boost. Iron-fortified whole-grain cereals also contain as much as 18 mg of iron in a suggested serving.
Hummus
Hummus, a spread made from cooked chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, concentrates the iron content of these legumes and enhances it with iron-rich sesame seed ingredients. Hummus made with lemon adds vitamin C, which increases nonheme iron absorption, as the National Institutes of Health point out.
Chickpeas, soybeans and kidney beans have 5 mg of dietary iron per 1 cup, the USDA relates. Pinto beans and black beans condense their 4 mg of usable iron as well when cooked or refried into a dense spread.
Oysters
Oysters and other shellfish provide large doses of usable iron to eat all at once or cook into soups or stews for extra nutritional value. The USDA lists raw or breaded, fried oysters as high-iron foods, with 6 mg per 3 oz.
Raw clams double that iron content in the same portion size. Canned clams concentrate iron minerals through processing to deliver 24 mg in 3 oz.
Franks and Beans
The NIH explains that a blend of heme and nonheme food sources in one meal provides the most usable form of dietary iron. Homemade or packaged foods such as franks and beans, chili con carne and spaghetti and meatballs have as much as 5 mg of dietary iron per suggested serving, according to the USDA.
Spinach
Vegetable food sources of iron can enrich other dishes or contribute directly toward your daily iron requirements. Cooked spinach has 6 mg in 1 cup, as per the USDA. Enjoy it in other iron-rich dishes such as lentil or bean soups, bagels and pesto.
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