Iron

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Latest News
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Iron is a mineral that our bodies need for many functions. For example, iron is part of hemoglobin, a protein which carries oxygen from our lungs throughout our bodies. It helps our muscles store and use oxygen. Iron is also part of many other proteins and enzymes.

Your body needs the right amount of iron. If you have too little iron, you may develop iron deficiency anemia. Causes of low iron levels include blood loss, poor diet, or an inability to absorb enough iron from foods. People at higher risk of having too little iron are young children and women who are pregnant or have periods.

Too much iron can damage your body. Taking too many iron supplements can cause iron poisoning. Some people have an inherited disease called hemochromatosis. It causes too much iron to build up in the body.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• Iron (National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements) Also in Spanish

Latest News

• Iron Pills No Help for Certain Type of Heart Failure (05/16/2017, HealthDay)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Ferritin Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Iron Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• TIBC, UIBC and Transferrin (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)

Related Issues

• Avoiding Anemia: Boost Your Red Blood Cells (National Institutes of Health)

Specifics

• Anemia (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Iron-Deficiency Anemia (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: African iron overload (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: GRACILE syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: hyperferritinemia-cataract syndrome (National Library of Medicine)

Statistics and Research

• FastStats: Anemia or Iron Deficiency (National Center for Health Statistics)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Ferritins (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Iron (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Hb level, iron intake and mortality in Chinese adults: a...
• Article: Mineral Intake in Urban Pregnant Women from Base Diet, Fortified...
• Article: Association between predominantly plant-based diets and iron status in Chinese...
• Iron -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Food and Drug Administration
• Food and Nutrition Information Center
• National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements

Children

• Iron and Your Child (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Iron-Deficiency Anemia (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)

Patient Handouts

• Anemia caused by low iron -- infants and toddlers (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ferritin blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Iron deficiency anemia (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Iron in diet (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Serum iron test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Taking iron supplements (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Total iron binding capacity (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish