Mung beans contain 1.3 milligrams of iron per 100 grams. Grams is a measure of weight. To put 100 grams in perspective, consider alternative measures for this food:
- 1 cup equals 202 grams.
In the category of beans, we excluded protein isolates and other processed foods from the Top 10 list and include only whole beans. You can assume that if the whole version made the top 10 list, so too would the refined version.The food tested for the particular graph below can be described more specifically as:
Mung beans, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, with salt
Read more about iron in beans or visit our iron-rich foods list.
Mung Beans And Iron
Mung bean, a mature bean green in color, is fairly high in iron. One cup of cooked mung beans would provide a woman about 16% of her daily recommended iron. However, mung beans (like all beans) contain an iron inhibitor called phytic acid that reduces your absorption of the iron in the mung beans. You do not absorb as much iron in the mung beans as you would expect. There are kitchen preparation techniques, however, that you can employ that will reduce the phytic acid in the mung beans before your cook them so that you will get more iron out of those mung beans. The basic process is soaking the beans in warm water before cooking them which you can read more about on our iron rich foods tips page.
Use the search function on this website to explore the iron content of your favorite foods.