فولاد · ferrous sulphate, ferritin
Mixed evidence
Never take it without a blood test. Untreated anaemia is exhausting; unneeded iron is dangerous.
This is information, not medical advice. This page is information, not medical advice. Nothing here is a prescription, a diagnosis or a recommendation to take anything, and none of it replaces a doctor who knows your history. Supplements are not harmless because they are natural: they interact with prescription medicines, some are unsafe in pregnancy, and a few can cause real damage. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting anything here, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, have a liver, kidney or heart condition, or take any regular medication. Never stop a prescribed antidepressant to try a supplement instead.
The mineral your blood uses to carry oxygen. Low iron leaves you breathless, exhausted, foggy and irritable long before a doctor would call you anaemic.
Iron deficiency and depression turn up together often, and treating a genuine deficiency can lift fatigue and mood considerably. Whether iron helps mood at normal levels has not been shown. Low ferritin also drives restless legs, which wrecks sleep, which flattens mood - a chain worth breaking at the right end.
Dose depends entirely on your blood results and is a doctor's decision. Alternate-day dosing is now often preferred: absorption is better and stomach upset less.
Recorded because a person who has decided to try something will find a number somewhere, and a forum's number is worse than a trial's. It is not a recommendation, and the right amount for you depends on things only a doctor who knows your history can weigh.
The one supplement here that can genuinely poison someone. Iron overdose is a leading cause of poisoning death in young children - keep it locked away. Iron you do not need builds up and damages liver and heart. Constipation and black stools are normal; severe stomach pain is not.
Deficiency and anaemia are very common in women and girls here, especially with heavy periods, repeated pregnancies or a diet low in meat. Ask for a full blood count AND ferritin - normal haemoglobin does not rule out low stores.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist about everything else you take, prescription and herbal both. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, or have a liver, kidney, heart or thyroid condition, ask first. And if what brought you here is that you have been feeling low or frightened for weeks, that deserves more than a supplement — ask us anything, anonymously, or talk to us on WhatsApp.