What Is Nitrogen? What Foods Can I Find It In?

Panfried bacon on a plate
Bacon contains nitrogen

Nitrogen is a vital component in all amino acids.

It is classified as a trace mineral.

It exists in all living matter.

It is present in the atmosphere and in virtually every organic molecule found in biological organisms.

Nitrogen is an important part of many foods.

Nitrogen in foods benefits us with body growth, maintenance, and recovery.

Table of Contents

Nitrogen In All Living Matter

Nitrogen is one of the most abundant elements in living matter.

Nitrogen is an integral structural component of proteins and nucleic acids found in all living cells. (source )

Nitrogen has two research-backed benefits that you can find in Nitrogen: 2 Research-Backed Benefits

Nitrogen In The Body

Nitrogen is released by protein degradation. Nitrogen is lost in body secretions and excreted in sweat, feces, and urine.

In a healthy adult, stable protein intake and synthesis should be balanced by protein degradation and loss to maintain tissue integrity. (source )

Nitrogen In Food

Nitrogen is an important part of many foods. Plants cannot grow or develop without it.

But it's more common that we get nitrogen from amino acids.

Foods that are high in nitrogen include high-protein and high-purine foods like meat, seafood and organ meat.

Lately, nitrogen is being more frequently used in the coffee and beer industries.

Foods You Can Find Nitrogen In

You find Nitrogen mostly in dairy and egg, legume, pork, and poultry products.

Examples of food sources include

Foods in our nutrition tool

You can access regularly updated top-ranked lists of foods for over 200+ nutrients in our nutrition tool.

If you are interested in what foods contain the most Nitrogen, we recommend you use our tool.

Here's our top-ranked list of foods that contain Nitrogen.

Sara Niemelä

co-founder Care Omnia, Head Content Creator

Author Image of Sara Niemelä

Nutrition is my passion. I've spent thousands upon thousands of hours reading, analyzing, categorizing and comparing research studies.

I’m a wife and a mother of three. I enjoy the outdoors, cooking, and spending time with my family.