Signs of Iron Deficiency

Iron is critical for producing hemoglobin, a protein that helps red blood cells deliver oxygen throughout your

body. So without it, everything suffers -- and can lead to anemia. Check out these symptoms of iron deficiency and, if you have them, see your doc and request a ferritin test, which measures your body's iron stores.

You're exhausted.

The most common symptom of iron deficiency, it's also possibly the most difficult one to detect. "Women are so used to having frenetic lives and feeling tired," says Nancy Berliner, M.D., deputy editor of Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology. "They often just dismiss being tired as part of life."

You have heavy periods.
In women, the number-one cause of iron deficiency is too-heavy periods, says Jacques Moritz, M.D., director of gynecology at Mount Sinai St. Luke's Roosevelt in New York City. "They lose too much blood, replace about half of it, and then lose too much again the following month," he says. "It's like filling up a car with a small hold in the tank." Your period should only fill two to three tablespoons each month.

You're pale.
There's a reason the words "pale" and "sickly" are often used interchangeably. Hemoglobin gives your blood its red color and, thus, your skin its rosy hue. That means that low levels of the protein can suck the color straight from your skin, Moritz says.

You get short of breath easily.
No matter how deeply you breathe, if your oxygen levels are low, you'll feel out of air, explains Berliner. If you notice yourself getting out of breath doing things that you'd normally handle just fine -- be it climbing a flight or stairs or knocking out your usual workout -- iron deficiency could be to blame.

Your heart is pounding.

An overworked heart can end up suffering from irregular heartbeats, heart murmurs, enlargement, and even heart failure. Before you freak out, don't. For things to get that bad, you would probably have to suffer from iron deficiency anemia for quite some time, suggests a review of cardiomyopathy and iron deficiency in the Texas Heart Institute Journal.

You have restless leg syndrome.
Can't stop fidgeting? About 15 percent of people with restless leg syndrome have iron deficiency, according to John Hopkins Medicine. The lower the iron levels, the worse the symptoms.

Your head hurts.
An iron-deficient body will prioritize getting oxygen to your brain before it worries about other tissues, but even then, your noggin will still get less than it ideally should, Berliner says. In response, the brain's arteries can swell, causing headaches, according to the National Headache Foundation.

You crave clay, dirt and ice.
Called pica, craving (and actually eating) non-food substances can be a sign of of iron deficiency. Iron-deficient people may be tempted to chow down on chalk, clay, dirt and paper.

You feel anxious for no reason.

As if your life wasn't stressful enough, iron deficiency can trick you into feeling even more anxious. A lack of oxygen revs up your body's sympathetic nervous system, which is kind of like your body's gas pedal, Berliner says.

You're losing your hair.
Iron deficiency, especially when it progresses into full-blown iron deficiency anemia, can cause hair loss. "It sends your body into survival mode, so your body channels oxygen to support vital functions as opposed to ones like keeping your hair intact," explains Moritz. 

You're vegetarian or vegan.
All iron is not created equal. Your body absorbs heme iron -- which comes from meat, poultry and fish -- two to three times more efficiently than non-heme iron from plants, says nutritionist Rania Batayneh, author of The One One One Diet.

You have an under-active thyroid.
Iron deficiency slows your body's thyroid function and blocks its metabolism-boosting effects, according to the National Academy of Hypothyroidism. 

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