🩸 Iron, Interrupted: what happens when you don't have enough

Let’s talk iron and why it matters more than you think.

WHY DO WE NEED IRON?

Iron is a critical mineral with some non-negotiable roles in the body:

🧠 Oxygen Transport: Iron is a key part of haemoglobin - the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to your tissues(so you can feel full of life).

💪 Energy Production: Your mitochondria (your cells' powerhouses) need iron to function properly.

🛡️ Immune Health: Iron supports your body’s ability to fight infection.

🧠 Cognitive Function: Low iron levels are linked to brain fog, low mood, and poor concentration.

If you're one of those people who always feel tired, weak, get dizzy standing up, or struggle with brittle nails or hair thinning, your iron levels might be a part of the story. 

But here's the kicker: many women supplement with iron and still see low ferritin on their blood tests.

So what gives?

Let’s break it down. 

But before we do that, I want to explain the difference between iron and ferritin, so you can make better informed decisions when you look at your tests.

Iron vs Ferritin — What’s the difference?

When you see "iron" on your blood test it’s not the full story, iron metabolism is more layered than that. Here’s the key distinction:

Iron (serum iron, which is iron in your blood)

This is the actual iron circulating in your blood at the time of the test. It’s what your body is actively using for things like oxygen transport, energy production, immune and brain function.

👉 It can fluctuate daily depending on meals, time of day, or inflammation.

Ferritin

Ferritin is your iron storage protein, a bit like your iron “bank account”. It is stored mostly in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow.

Ferritin is a more stable marker of your long-term iron status.

✅ Ferritin is the best early marker for iron deficiency - you can have normal serum iron but low ferritin and still feel exhausted.

⚠️ But remember: ferritin also rises during inflammation or infection (because the body locks iron away from pathogens so they won’t feed off it), so high ferritin doesn’t always mean you have too much iron, very often it only means inflammatory processes.

So, ideally, to get a better rounded picture of your iron status, you need to understand both. For some people, it is perfectly possible to function really well with lower ferritin and healthy levels of iron, for others it won’t be enough.

If finding your way through the labyrinth of your health feels overwhelming, and you’d love someone to do all the thinking, planning, and strategising for you — my team and I are here, with our clinical experience, sharp analytical minds and compassionate hearts, ready to support your every health and wellbeing need.

Book your discovery call here