The Iron Paradox Why Low Iron Levels Could Signal Deeper Nutritional Issues

Low Iron Is Not a Diagnosis

Why forcing a single nutrient often does more harm than good

After many years working in clinical practice, and after reviewing thousands of hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) tests, a clear and consistent pattern emerges.

About 80 per cent of women and around 60 per cent of men I test in the clinic show some degree of copper dysregulation. This is rarely a simple copper deficiency. Far more often, copper is excessive, poorly utilised, or improperly distributed within the body. Repeatedly, copper proves to be a key driver of iron-related health issues.

Iron very rarely misbehaves on its own.

You can read all about copper and health here: https://www.garymoller.com/blog/search/copper

When iron levels are low, it is usually part of a larger pattern. This pattern includes copper imbalances, low zinc and selenium levels, digestive problems, hormonal influences, and, underneath all of this, long-term systemic inflammation.

Yet the standard clinical response remains remarkably narrow: iron is low, and therefore iron must be given.

For many people, particularly women, this results in iron supplements, sometimes high-dose preparations or injections, often paired with vitamin B12. Blood tests are repeated, numbers improve, and the intervention is considered successful.

It's rarely talked about why iron was low in the first place, or what low iron levels mean about the body's internal environment.

Iron status is not a standalone problem with a single lever to pull. It shows a tightly controlled system that includes inflammation, immune signals, liver function, hormone balance, minerals, oxidative stress, and ageing.

This article is not an argument against iron. Iron can be essential and, in the right context, lifesaving. The problem is far more fundamental:

Iron alone is almost never the solution.

Diet matters, but utilisation matters more

Another consistent observation from clinical practice relates to diet.

If someone eats red meat, organ meats, black pudding, eggs, and other animal-derived foods often, they usually get enough iron. In such cases, low iron markers are highly unlikely to reflect inadequate intake.

This immediately shifts the focus away from diet and towards utilisation.

Iron from animal foods (haem iron) is absorbed far more efficiently than iron from plant foods. Vegetable sources contain non-haem iron, which is less bioavailable and easily inhibited by phytates, fibre, polyphenols, and compromised digestive function.

This distinction matters, but it also reinforces the central point: when someone consuming ample haem iron still shows low iron markers, intake is not the issue.

Something upstream is interfering.

In practice, that "something" is most often chronic inflammation, copper dysregulation, impaired digestion and absorption, and shortages in key cofactors such as zinc and selenium. These factors disrupt iron transport, storage, recycling, and safe utilisation regardless of how much iron is consumed.

Low iron in this context is not a nutritional failure. It is a regulatory signal.

Signals are meant to be listened to, not silenced.

You cannot beat biology into submission

At some point, the question has to be asked plainly:

How did we decide that forcing one isolated nutrient into the body was a sensible approach to healing?

Iron is not biologically inert. It is redox-active, meaning it readily participates in reactions that generate oxidative stress. Excess or poorly controlled iron has been linked to DNA damage, accelerated cellular ageing, neurodegeneration, and increased cancer risk.

A major review published in Ageing Research Reviews details how iron accumulation contributes to oxidative injury in neural tissue and plays a role in neurodegenerative disease:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3938201/

In 2025, News-Medical reported that higher blood iron levels were linked to faster body ageing. This was measured using DNA methylation clocks. The authors noted downstream effects including premature tissue ageing and visible skin changes:https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250429/How-blood-iron-levels-shape-the-pace-of-biological-aging.aspx

Raising iron numbers without context may look reassuring on a laboratory report. Biologically, it can be corrosive. Quietly rusting away from the inside. Not a pleasant thought!

A lesson learned on the farm

This is not an abstract concept.

I learned this early in life while working as a farmhand in the South Waikato, milking cows and caring for livestock. One thing became immediately obvious:

You cannot beat an animal into good health.

Healthy animals were not created through force. They were created through care.

They were fed good grass.They had access to salt licks.Stress was minimised.They were handled calmly.They were spoken to kindly.Sometimes they were even sung to while being milked.

And the animals respond to a nurturing approach. Milk yield improves. Illness rates drop. Temperament softens. Health follows nurture, not coercion.

You cannot beat an animal into good health. The same applies to people.

Human biology is more complex, but it follows the same basic principles.

What "low iron" often really means

Most people are told they have low iron based on markers such as ferritin or serum iron. These markers are often misunderstood.

Ferritin, in particular, is not just an iron storage marker. It is also an acute-phase reactant, meaning it rises and falls in response to inflammation, infection, immune activation, and liver stress.

A review published in Clinical Biochemistry explains how ferritin values can misrepresent true iron status when inflammation is present:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1382668915301046

Iron is not just a nutrient. It is also a growth factor for bacteria, viruses, and rapidly dividing cells. The body controls iron tightly for survival reasons.

Inflammation is usually the driving force

When iron appears low on blood tests or on hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA), and dietary intake appears to be enough, the most common underlying driver is inflammation.

Inflammation increases hepcidin, a hormone that blocks iron absorption in the gut and traps iron within storage sites. This is not a failure of the system. It is an adaptive response designed to limit iron availability during immune stress.

A comprehensive review in Frontiers in Immunology outlines how inflammatory signalling alters iron metabolism and creates laboratory patterns that mimic iron deficiency:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6548326/

InsideTracker summarises this clearly for clinicians and patients alike: inflammation can lower circulating iron while total body iron remains normal or even elevated:https://www.insidetracker.com/a/articles/how-inflammation-affects-your-iron-levels

Forcing iron into an inflamed system does not resolve the problem. It overrides a protective mechanism.

The Goldilocks zone and mineral balance

HTMA testing is valuable because it emphasises patterns, ratios, and relationships, not just isolated values.

Health exists in the Goldilocks zone: Not too much.Not too little. Just right.

Minerals do not act independently. Each nutritional mineral participates in a network of antagonisms and dependencies. When one mineral is excessive or deficient, ripple effects occur across multiple systems. This is how metabolic chaos develops quietly over time.

Correcting a single number without restoring overall balance often worsens outcomes.

The Goldilocks zone: Not too much.Not too little. Just right.

Copper: dysregulation, not simply deficiency

Copper sits at the centre of most iron problems.

In clinical practice, simple copper deficiency is uncommon. Copper dysregulation is far more prevalent, particularly in women. Copper accumulates in tissues but becomes biologically unavailable, failing to perform its regulatory functions.

Copper and iron are biological antagonists. Excess or poorly regulated copper can displace iron from circulation and storage, resulting in low iron markers despite adequate intake.

The Linus Pauling Institute explains copper's essential role in iron transport and utilisation through copper-dependent enzymes such as ceruloplasmin:https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/minerals/copper

This pattern aligns closely with heavy or painful periods, PMS, breast inflammation, endometriosis, oestrogen dominance, and chronic inflammatory states.

Adding more iron does not necessarily restore balance. It deepens the imbalance.

Agriculture understood this decades ago

These principles are not new.

In Soil Minerals and Health, agricultural researcher Brown Trotter documented infectious anaemia and poor resilience in grazing animals raised on mineral-imbalanced soils. Iron supplementation alone often fails. What worked was restoring copper availability, sometimes using carefully controlled copper sulphate. Once copper improved, iron metabolism normalised and resistance to infection increased.

Book reference:https://www.fishpond.co.nz/Books/Soil-Minerals-Brown-Trotter-David-Coory-Edited-by/9780908850099

The anaemia was not an iron problem. It was a regulatory problem.

Human biochemistry follows the same laws.

Toxic elements: the jokers in the pack

Toxic elements such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and aluminium act like jokers in a deck of cards.

They displace nutritional minerals, block enzymatic reactions, increase oxidative stress, and distort HTMA patterns. Even low-level, chronic exposure can undermine nutrient utilisation and explain why supplementation often fails or backfires.

Reducing toxic burden and restoring mineral balance must be addressed together.

B12 is not a safety net

Correcting vitamin B12 deficiency is important. However, B12 does not neutralise iron excess or resolve inflammatory iron sequestration.

Stimulating red blood cell production in a stressed, inflamed system increases oxidative load. Laboratory values may improve temporarily. Long-term outcomes often do not.

Diet versus utilisation: A simple way to understand iron problems

Dietary intake asks:"How much iron is coming in?"

Utilisation asks:"Can the body absorb, transport, store, recycle, and use that iron safely?"

Most iron problems live in the second question.

A person can consume iron-rich foods daily and still show low iron markers if inflammation is high, copper is dysregulated, digestion is impaired, or toxic metals are interfering.

Increasing intake does not correct a utilisation problem.

Taking iron questions to the next level

If iron appears to be an issue on a blood test, the next step is not escalation. It is a better assessment.

This is where hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) can be valuable.

HTMA provides a longer-term picture of mineral patterns, ratios, and toxic elements that blood tests cannot capture. It helps determine whether iron issues are isolated or part of a broader regulatory pattern.

Just as important as the test itself is interpretation.

Consultation with a health professional who has specific training and clinical experience in mineral physiology and pattern-based interpretation should follow HTMA. Without that expertise, the data can be misleading.

A gentler, smarter way to improve health

Mother Nature does not heal with blunt force. She heals with rhythm, balance, patience, and care.

Just as you cannot beat an animal into health, you cannot beat a human being into healing.

When inflammation is reduced, mineral balance restored, digestion supported, and toxic burden minimised, iron often normalises without aggressive supplementation. Energy improves. Hormones stabilise. Ageing slows rather than accelerates.

The goal is not to dominate biology. It is to work with it.

And when we do, the results tend to be quieter, slower, and far more durable.

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Disclaimer

The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. It is not a substitute for diagnosis, treatment, or care from a qualified medical or healthcare professional. Individual health needs vary, and mineral testing, supplementation, or dietary changes should not be undertaken without appropriate professional guidance. Always consult your GP, medical practitioner, or suitably qualified health professional before making changes to medications, supplements, or treatment plans.