Iron: Dark Chocolate Contains More than Beef?

According to the website, Nutritiondata.com, a one ounce serving of dark chocolate contains 19 percent of the US RDA for iron. Yet an ounce of beef sirloin only contains 3 percent.

Is dark chocolate really that high in iron? Why hasn’t anyone told me this?

Data from USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference shows: Chocolate, dark, 70-85 percent cacao solids, value per 100 grams is 11.90 milligrams of iron. Beef, bottom sirloin, tri-tip roast, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 0″ fat, all grades, cooked, roasted, value per 100 grams is 1.66 milligrams of iron. Beef, ground, 70 percent lean meat / 30 percent fat, crumbles, cooked, pan-browned, value per 100 grams is 2.48 milligrams of iron. So these two information sources state that dark chocolate does contain more iron than some cuts of beef, and not just a little more. (I’m currently holding a dark chocolate bar and the wrapper says 100 grams is 3.5 ounces).

Now I’m not suggesting that anyone use dark chocolate as a staple, or primary source of iron. The chocolate bar I’m holding contains 27 grams of saturated fat, and that’s way too high to eat the whole thing at once, or even in a day. Also, my post here is not an exhaustive scientific study. I just wanted to share an example (one of many) showing that beef is not the only source of iron, nor the highest source of iron, and that we may find there are many sources beyond what we have been told via messages in the mainstream media. My apologies if you were already aware of the many non-meat sources of iron, including dark chocolate.

Image Credit: f10n4