Is my iron low?!

[candygram]

my iron level was 11 and my doctor said that was slightly low. all the women in my fam have low blood. im wondering is 11 a bad number when it comes to having low iron? what should my iron number be?

[ljb091206]

hi there, i work in labs in the uk and our local hospital policy is any iron level <10 is iron deficent, and <20 is iron depleted.  Mine was recently 19 and i was treated with a 1 month course of iron tablets which has brought it back to where it should be.

[ShadowPhoenix09]

The Red Cross tests my blood for Iron every time I donate. They use a scale where the average is 12.5-15.3. So you're probably not all that low. It's not too big a deal, take a Iron tablet if you're really worried, otherwise just try to include more Iron rich foods in your daily diet.

[gymdandee]

The normal range for a female is 50-70 ug/dL depending on the testing lab your MD had the test done may have another range. When a doctor has blood work done the labs will return the test results with a range of normal for the testing equipment they use so the doctor can see if the value are within normal limits or not.Woman normally have lower iron due to menstruation. If you do have iron deficiency anemia I suggest the following eat high iron food sources which are all meats,fish,dark greens,beans, enriched rice, enriched pastas,whole wheat bread,
Vitamin C helps absorb Iron in the so it is good to have a vitamin C with your iron meal drink orange juice with the iron supplement or have mashed potatoes with meat.