Iron
mineral Unit: mg
Iron is a core component of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to every tissue. Iron deficiency is the most widespread nutritional deficiency globally. The RDA is 8 mg per day for adult men and 18 mg for premenopausal women. Heme iron from meat and seafood is absorbed at roughly twice the rate of non-heme iron from plant foods.
Reference Daily Intake · per 100g
USDA/NIH DRI · National Academies
Top 20 Foods by Iron
See all 7708 foods →Reference Daily Intake
8 mg
= 100% RDA
| # | Food | per 100g | % RDA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dried Thyme | 123.6 mg | 1545% |
| 2 | Dried Basil | 89.8 mg | 1123% |
| 3 | Dried Spearmint | 87.5 mg | 1093% |
| 4 | Dried Marjoram | 82.7 mg | 1034% |
| 5 | Dried Beluga Whale Meat | 72.3 mg | 904% |
| 6 | Ralston Enriched Wheat Bran Flakes | 67.7 mg | 846% |
| 7 | Oatmeal Baby Cereal with Honey | 67.2 mg | 840% |
| 8 | Dry Seaweed (Canadian Cultivated Emi-Tsunomata) | 66.4 mg | 830% |
| 9 | Cumin Seed | 66.4 mg | 830% |
| 10 | Oatmeal Cereal Baby Food (Fortified) | 64.1 mg | 801% |
| 11 | Gerber Single Grain Oatmeal Cereal (Dry, Fortified) | 64.0 mg | 800% |
| 12 | Ground Turmeric | 55.0 mg | 688% |
| 13 | Freeze-Dried Parsley | 53.9 mg | 674% |
| 14 | Rice Baby Cereal (Fortified) | 53.0 mg | 663% |
| 15 | Dried Bearded Seal Meat | 49.6 mg | 620% |
| 16 | Quaker Quick Oats with Iron | 49.5 mg | 618% |
| 17 | Dried Dill Weed | 48.8 mg | 610% |
| 18 | Barley Cereal Baby Food (Fortified) | 48.2 mg | 603% |
| 19 | Instant Brown Rice Baby Cereal | 47.6 mg | 595% |
| 20 | Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Rice Cereal | 47.5 mg | 594% |