Iron Storage Markers
Understand what this biomarker measures, what your results mean, and when to discuss with your health practitioner.
Understanding Your Results
Low iron affects oxygen delivery to every cell in your body - your energy, focus, and physical endurance all suffer. Iron stores power your haemoglobin, which carries oxygen from your lungs to tissues.
That exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix? Breathlessness on stairs? Difficulty concentrating?
Possible reasons:
- Dietary intake lower than needs (especially plant-based diets)
- Heavy menstrual periods (most common cause in pre-menopausal women)
- Reduced absorption (gut issues, medications, low stomach acid)
- Increased needs (pregnancy, breastfeeding, growth spurts)
- Blood loss (gut bleeding, frequent blood donation)
Next steps: Discuss with your GP, especially if you have symptoms. They can recommend iron supplementation and may investigate causes of iron loss (particularly heavy periods or gut issues).
Energy often improves within 2-4 weeks when iron levels are addressed. Full iron stores rebuild in 3-6 months.
Your iron stores are sufficient to support healthy oxygen delivery throughout your body.
Possible reasons:
- Iron balance maintained through diet and controlled absorption
Next steps: Continue maintaining iron balance through varied diet including iron-rich foods.
Elevated iron stores can occur with inflammation, liver changes, or iron metabolism variations. High iron isn't caused by diet - your body tightly regulates iron absorption.
Possible reasons:
- Inflammation (ferritin rises as an acute phase reactant)
- Liver function changes
- Haemochromatosis (genetic iron overload - rare)
- Recent iron supplementation or infusion
Next steps: Discuss with your GP to determine if investigation is needed. They may check additional iron studies or assess for inflammation.
Medication Considerations
These medications may affect your results:
- Iron supplements: Iron supplements will raise ferritin levels.
Test your iron storage markers
NATA-accredited testing. Results in 2-5 days. No GP referral required.
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