How to Increase Ferritin

Ferritin is a protein in the body that helps store iron in cells. Ferritin levels may decrease if the body is iron deficient or malnourished. In addition, there are many medical problems and chronic diseases that can cause low ferritin levels. Although it can cause serious health problems, low ferritin levels are relatively easy to rise again. By identifying potential health problems, taking supplements, and adjusting your diet, you can increase your blood ferritin levels.

Table of Contents

Determine the cause of low ferritin levels

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Talk to a medical professional. Before taking action to increase ferritin levels, you need to consult a doctor. Your doctor will ask you about your personal and family medical history. Your doctor may also ask if you have any symptoms related to low ferritin levels. Some of the symptoms include: ^{[1] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

Tired
Headache
Uncomfortable
Hair loss
Crispy nails
Rapidly breath

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Check iron levels in the blood. Because ferritin is iron that has been absorbed into the tissue, your doctor will first check the amount of iron in your blood. This test helps your doctor see if you are consuming enough iron or have a problem that inhibits the absorption of iron into the bloodstream. ^{[2] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

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Check ferritin levels. Your doctor may also check your ferritin levels. If there is not enough iron in the blood, the body will draw iron from the tissues, thereby reducing ferritin levels. Therefore, testing for ferritin and iron levels is often done at the same time. ^{[3] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}

Maintain blood ferritin levels at 30-40 ng/mL. A ferritin level below 20 ng/mL is considered a mild deficiency. ^{[4] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source A} ferritin level below 10 ng/mL is considered deficient.
Some laboratories use special procedures that affect the results for ferritin concentrations and ranges. Therefore, you should always talk to your doctor about the results.

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Sign up for an iron binding test. This test measures the maximum amount of iron your blood can store, which helps your doctor see if your liver and other internal organs are working properly. If they don’t function properly, low ferritin or low iron levels may be associated with a larger problem. ^{[5] X Trusted Source MedlinePlus Go to Source}

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Determine if you have any serious medical problems. After talking with you and conducting blood tests, your doctor will determine if you have a medical problem that causes low ferritin levels or affects your ability to raise ferritin levels. Some problems that can affect ferritin levels or affect the ability to raise ferritin levels include:

Anemia
Cancer
Kidney disease
Hepatitis
Stomach ulcers
Enzyme Disorders ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Use functional foods

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Take iron supplements. If you have mild or moderate iron deficiency, your doctor will direct you to buy iron supplements at the pharmacy. Follow the instructions on the product or as directed by your doctor. Usually, oral iron supplements take several weeks to increase iron and ferritin levels.

Iron supplements can cause many side effects such as back pain, chills, dizziness, headaches, and nausea. ^{[7] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}
Vitamin C helps improve the absorption of iron in the blood, so you can take an iron supplement with a glass of orange juice. ^{[8] X Cleveland Clinic Trusted Source Go to Source}
Avoid taking iron supplements with milk, coffee, antacids, calcium supplements because they reduce iron absorption. ^{[9] X Cleveland Clinic Trusted Source Go to Source}

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Intravenous vitamin injections and treatments. If you have a severe iron deficiency, have recently lost a lot of blood, or have a problem that affects your body’s ability to absorb iron, your doctor may prescribe an injection or an intravenous infusion. You can inject iron directly into the bloodstream or inject vitamin B12 as this vitamin can help increase iron absorption. In severe cases, your doctor may order a blood transfusion to restore iron levels quickly. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Injection or intravenous infusion is only used when other methods cannot help increase iron and ferritin levels.
Iron injections can cause the same side effects as iron supplements.

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Use prescription supplements and drugs. There are many drugs used to increase iron and ferritin levels in the human body. If you have a problem that inhibits your ability to absorb or store iron, your doctor may prescribe medication. Some medications include:

Iron sulphate
Iron gluconate
Iron fumarate
Iron carbonyl
Iron dextran complex ^{[11] X Research Source}

Adjust your diet

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Eat a lot of meat. Meat, especially red meat, is probably the best dietary source of iron. Not only because meat is rich in iron, but also because the body can easily absorb iron from meat. So by increasing your meat intake, you will be able to increase your iron and ferritin levels. The best meat products to increase iron levels include:

Beef
Lamb
Liver
Shellfish
Eggs ^{[12] X Trusted Source Red Cross Blood Donation Services Go to Source}

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Eat a variety of iron-containing plants. Next to meat, there are many plants that are also rich in iron. Eating these plant-based products will help increase blood ferritin levels. However, keep in mind that you need on average twice as much plant-based supplements to get the same amount of iron as in meat. Iron-rich plants include:

Spinach
Wheat
Oat
Nuts
Rice (iron fortified variety)
Beans ^{[13] X Research Source}

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Consider limiting foods and minerals that make it difficult for your body to absorb iron. Certain foods and minerals can make it difficult for the body to digest and absorb iron. Although the following foods do not need to be eliminated from your diet, you should consume less:

Red wine
Coffee
Black tea and green tea
Non-fermented soybeans ^{[14] X Research Source}
Milk
Calcium
Magnesium
Zinc
Bronze ^{[15] X Research Source}

Steps

Determine the cause of low ferritin levels

Use functional foods

Adjust your diet

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