Rankings / Essentials — Vitamins & Minerals
Iron
Essentials · Mineral
Tier B-
What this is
Don't supplement without bloodwork. Iron overload accelerates aging and CV disease. Men and postmenopausal women rarely need supplementation.
Mechanism
Hemoglobin/myoglobin oxygen transport; electron transport chain; cofactor for many enzymes
Dose & route
8 mg/day men; 18 mg/day premenopausal women; ONLY supplement if documented deficiency (ferritin/TIBC)
Citations
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/
- https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241596107
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26059829/
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This is an independent synthesis of published research by a non-clinician. Scores are opinions supported by citations, not prescriptions. See the full disclaimer and methodology for how this score was produced and what it does and doesn't mean.