Wellness Nutrition Eat Well I'm a Dietitian, and These Are 7 Signs Your Body Needs More Iron By Isabel Vasquez RD LDN Isabel Vasquez RD LDN Isabel Vasquez is a freelance writer and bilingual registered dietitian practicing from an intuitive eating, culturally sensitive framework. health's editorial guidelines Published on November 26, 2024 Medically reviewed by Elizabeth Barnes, RDN Medically reviewed by Elizabeth Barnes, RDN Elizabeth Barnes, MS, RDN, LDN, is a dietitian with a focus on treating clients with eating disorders and disordered eating to help them to mend their relationship with food and their bodies. learn more Close Daniel de la Hoz / Getty Images Iron is a mineral that's important for the health of your red blood cells. It's found in two red blood cell proteins: hemoglobin and myoglobin. Iron helps transport oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body, supports connective tissue health, and promotes muscle metabolism. Iron deficiency can occur if you have a condition that decreases your body's ability to absorb iron, such as inflammatory bowel or celiac disease. People who don't eat enough iron-rich foods or who have higher iron needs due to pregnancy or breastfeeding can also become deficient. Since iron is found in blood, losing blood can also cause a deficiency. This can happen from heavy menstrual periods, gastrointestinal bleeding, traumatic injuries, and urinary tract bleeding. Noticing signs of iron deficiency early on is crucial to prevent it from progressing and leading to more severe complications like heart problems, pregnancy complications, and developmental delays in children. 1. You Feel Tired Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of iron deficiency. You may feel weak and tired for no apparent reason, even if you're getting enough sleep. This happens because when you lack iron, there isn't enough hemoglobin to transport oxygen to all of your tissues, causing fatigue. Iron deficiency is also linked with sleep disorders like insomnia and restless leg syndrome, which can disrupt sleep and exacerbate feelings of fatigue. While there are other reasons for fatigue, many people with iron deficiency experience this symptom. Feeling fatigued, along with other iron-deficient symptoms, might indicate you're dealing with a deficiency. 2. Your Hands and Feet Are Always Cold A lack of iron can sometimes result in cold fingers and toes, even when the surrounding environment is not cold. Similar to fatigue, this symptom is related to the role of hemoglobin in the body. Without enough hemoglobin, your blood circulation decreases, and adequate oxygen doesn't reach your extremities. You may generally feel colder than people around you, not just in your hands and feet. 3. Your Skin Is Unusually Pale You may be low on iron if your skin is paler than usual. Unusual paleness is another sign of decreased blood circulation, which can happen when your body isn't producing enough red blood cells due to iron deficiency. This symptom can present differently depending on skin tone. Paleness may be more evident in lighter skin tones, visible across the face. In darker skin tones, abnormal paleness may be easier to detect in the inner mouth and lining of the eyes. 4. You Often Feel Dizzy or Lightheaded Another common symptom of iron deficiency is dizziness or lightheadedness. This happens because when your body is low in iron, it lacks enough red blood cells to carry oxygen to the brain and other organs. Lightheadedness is another symptom that isn't specific to iron deficiency. It could indicate a wide range of issues and various levels of severity. Consider whether you're experiencing this symptom in combination with other symptoms or signs of iron deficiency. 5. You Get Headaches Frequently When your brain isn't getting enough oxygen, a headache can follow. Iron deficiency can also cause your blood vessels to swell, which could create pressure that leads to a headache. A recent study found a strong link between iron deficiency anemia and chronic daily headaches. Migraines were also common among study participants with iron deficiency. 6. Your Hair and Nails Are Weak or Brittle Having brittle nails can be another indicator of iron deficiency. If the iron deficiency progresses, you may also develop koilonychia, a condition where your nails curve inward and have raised ridges, similar to spoons. Koilonychia affects about 5% of people with iron deficiency. It may happen due to abnormalities in blood flow to the nails and mechanical pressure that causes the outer portions of the nails to grow upward. Iron deficiency can also lead to hair thinning and loss due to a lack of nutrition and blood flow, which your hair needs to grow. Research shows iron deficiency is a frequent cause of hair loss. 7. You Crave Ice Iron deficiency can cause pica, eating or craving non-nutritive substances like ice, dirt, uncooked rice, or paper. In the United States, an estimated 25% of people with iron deficiency experience pagophagia—craving ice. This symptom occurs most often in pregnant people or preadolescents. There's no known cause of pica or explanation for why it's often linked with iron deficiency. How To Test for Iron Deficiency If you notice any of the above signs or symptoms of iron deficiency, consider contacting a healthcare provider. You should also talk to a healthcare provider if you notice blood or a black tar-like appearance in your stool. Your healthcare provider can check for iron deficiency using blood tests, including a complete blood count (CBC) and a reticulocyte count. These tests check your red blood cells, platelets, hemoglobin, and more, which can help diagnose anemia. Your healthcare provider may also check your serum iron level, total iron binding capacity, and serum ferritin to diagnose iron deficiency. Tips for Getting More Iron To prevent or manage iron deficiency, start by eating iron-rich foods. Good sources include beans, dried fruit, eggs, lean red meat, salmon, iron-fortified grains, peas, tofu, and dark leafy greens. Pairing these foods with sources of vitamin C (e.g., oranges, tomatoes, strawberries) helps your body absorb more iron, especially from plant-based sources. If you have iron deficiency or are at risk of developing it, taking an iron supplement under the guidance of a healthcare provider may help keep your iron levels within normal range. Your healthcare provider can help determine an appropriate dose of supplemental iron based on your current iron levels and any health conditions you have. Restoring iron levels to the normal range can take 3-6 months of supplementation. Iron supplements often cause side effects like nausea, diarrhea, or constipation. If you experience these, your healthcare provider may suggest pairing a supplement with food or lowering the dose. In severe cases of iron deficiency, you may need intravenous iron or a blood transfusion. If the iron deficiency is caused by internal bleeding or kidney disease, interventions like surgery or medication may be necessary to stop the underlying cause of the deficiency. Who's at Risk? Groups at higher risk of deficiency include people with heavy menstrual bleeding, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, or heart failure and people who are pregnant. Infants and young children are more likely to experience iron deficiency. A Quick Review Iron deficiency can cause symptoms like fatigue, cold hands and feet, dizziness, headaches, and ice cravings. If you're experiencing these symptoms, consider speaking with a healthcare provider. They can perform a blood test to make a diagnosis and recommend a treatment plan. To prevent or manage iron deficiency, eat plenty of iron-rich foods, such as lean meat, dark leafy greens, beans, and fortified grains. Edited by Hannah Harper Hannah Harper Hannah Harper is a wellness editor for Health. Previously, she was an associate editor, assistant editor, and editorial assistant for Health. She covers topics on nutrition, women's health, and more. learn more Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit 15 Sources Health.com uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. National Institutes of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements. Iron: Fact sheet for health professionals. National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute. Iron-deficiency anemia. MedlinePlus. Iron deficiency anemia. Leung W, Singh I, McWilliams S, Stockler S, Ipsiroglu OS. Iron deficiency and sleep - A scoping review. Sleep Med Rev. 2020;51:101274. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2020.101274 MedlinePlus. Paleness. American Medical Association. What doctors wish patients knew about iron deficiency. Sim PY, Taribagil P, Woollacott IOC, Rashid S, Kidd DP. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension presenting as iron deficiency anemia: a case report. J Med Case Reports. 2021;15(1):45. doi:10.1186/s13256-020-02631-2 Singh RK, Kaushik RM, Goel D, Kaushik R. Association between iron deficiency anemia and chronic daily headache: A case-control study. Cephalalgia. 2023;43(2):03331024221143540. doi:10.1177/03331024221143540 MedlinePlus. Nail abnormalities. Rathod DG, Sonthalia S. Spoon nails. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2024. Salinas M, Leiva-Salinas M, Flores E, López-Garrigós M, Leiva-Salinas C. Alopecia and iron deficiency: An interventional pilot study in primary care to improve the request of ferritin. Adv Hematol. 2020;2020:7341018. doi:10.1155/2020/7341018 Ganesan PR, Vasauskas AA. The association between pica and iron-deficiency anemia: A scoping review. Cureus. 2023;15(4):e37904. doi:10.7759/cureus.37904 Borgna-Pignatti C, Zanella S. Pica as a manifestation of iron deficiency. Expert Rev Hematol. 2016;9(11):1075-1080. doi:10.1080/17474086.2016.1245136 MedlinePlus. Reticulocyte Count. MedlinePlus. Complete Blood Count (CBC).