If your iron levels aren’t budging, read this. 🧵

These common habits can reduce iron absorption. 🚩Drinking tea, coffee, or wine with iron supplements or iron-rich foods. ➡️The polyphenols can bind to iron and reduce absorption. 🚩Pairing iron with calcium. ➡️It decreases absorption when taken together.

These small changes can help boost iron absorption. Consider pairing iron with: ✅Vitamin C. It significantly enhances iron absorption and can help offset dietary inhibitors in plant-based meals. ✅Meat, poultry, or seafood alongside plant-based iron sources. ✅Cooking in cast iron. It can increase iron content of food.

Supplementing is just part of the equation. Timing, pairing, and absorption inhibitors all affect how much your body actually uses. Getting that strategy right can support healthy iron levels. Here are the tests to know where you stand. ⬇️

4 Biomarkers to monitor: 1️⃣Iron: The active iron circulating in your blood right now. A snapshot, not the full picture. 2️⃣Ferritin: Your iron storage protein. Levels can begin to shift before iron levels do, making it one of the earlier signals to watch. 3️⃣Iron % Saturation: Measures how much of your iron carrier protein (known as transferrin) is in use. 4️⃣Iron Binding Capacity: Shows how well your blood can bind iron to carry throughout the body. All 4 are included in Function membership. Part of 160+ lab tests. Citations in bio.