What is an optimal ferritin level?
The short answer
In one clip below, optimal ferritin starts at 45 ng/mL. In another, it tops out at 70.
Most labs call ferritin low only under 15. So your report can come back normal at 30 while you sit under the optimal floor.
Labs print different ranges by sex: about 15–150 ng/mL for women and 30–400 for men.
Sources disagree on optimal
“if your your level's under 45 it's going to affect your health even though the reference range on the lab says 16 or above is normal 45 or above should be the normal range or the optimal range”
“Not the optimum level that you I might think is good like vitamin D over 45 or feritin iron store over 45”
“ferritin is the marker of iron stores in the body and we want that ferritin in general to be you know around 50 to 70 you don't want it to be too high because that's not good”
Not every source agrees with that line.
“If you were part of my high performance athletic crew, we want to see minimum 50, preferably 100. So, we have to supplement you to bring it up”
What each range means
The rows below use the range labs print for women. For men it is 30–400 ng/mL.
- under 15 ng/mL Most labs flag this as low
- 15–45 ng/mL Normal on most reports. Below optimal“Not the optimum level that you I might think is good like vitamin D over 45 or feritin iron store over 45” Dr. Mark Hyman · 52:18 →
- 45–70 ng/mL Optimal
- 70–150 ng/mL Normal on most reports. Above optimal“ferritin is the marker of iron stores in the body and we want that ferritin in general to be you know around 50 to 70 you don't want it to be too high because…” Dr. Elizabeth Boham · 1:36:56 →
- over 150 ng/mL Most labs flag this as high
What ferritin measures
The protein your body stores iron in. So the test reads your iron reserves, not the iron in circulation.
Stores run down before anemia shows. That is why fatigue and hair loss can arrive while a blood count still looks fine. It also rises with inflammation.
Checked against MedlinePlus — Ferritin Blood Test.
Why it matters, on the record
“if your your level's under 45 it's going to affect your health even though the reference range on the lab says 16 or above is normal”
What are the symptoms of low ferritin?
“it really turns out that low iron can in stores like low ferritin can lead to fatigue insomnia hair loss and just other mild symptoms that are often ignored”
“This is fatigue where I can't even walk up the stairs without getting winded.”
“one of one of the things that uh is very closely associated with anxiety is iron deficiency and a very large percentage of women in the world are IR deficient especially those of childbearing age as well as children and in with children and Adolescence iron deficiency is associated with a high level of anxiety”
“false senses and low iron does lead to sleep disruption. Totally. Right. Even if even if your blood count's normal, if you have low feritin, of course. Right. Right. And that's going to happen in over probably 30% of physically active people which people don't realize and doctors usually don't check.”
“when you used to go to the pediatrician and they would do this to look at your ey eyes what they were looking for was the color of the conjunctiva if it was white or pale they knew you had iron deficiency”
What does a high ferritin mean?
“excess iron will increase the number of senescent cells in the body. And senescent cells are these zombie cells that accumulate as you get older, and they sit there and they cause inflammation mainly, and also can cause cancer.”
“because many bacteria and other forms of infection seem to thrive when levels of iron in the blood are high.”
What raises ferritin?
About women who still have periods and whose iron runs low.
“It's supplementing every other day with a very high bioavailable iron. And when we start looking at how we are supplementing every other day with either carbonyl or glycinate, then we're really able to boost that ferotin and people start to feel better.”
“you want to make sure you get enough uh through the supplement probably iron bis glycinate is the most bioavailable form”
About people whose iron runs high, or who carry the genes for it.
“people who have hemochromatosis or whose iron levels are abnormally high should exercise caution when considering vitamin C supplementation due to its propensity to improve the absorption of dietary iron”
What lowers ferritin?
About men who carry too much iron alongside poor metabolic health.
“pretty interesting data in men that the more metabolically deranged they are the better they do with therapeutic phlebotomy whereas the less metabolically deranged they are the less of an effect they have by giving blood reducing the oxidative stress of iron”
Who is ferritin different for?
“if you're a woman you you might be iron deficient or anemic especially if you don't eat red meat or you're vegan or you have heavy periods and you probably need iron in your in your uh menstruating ears”
“because for a great number of years of a woman's life she is going to have less iron than a man due to her menstrual cycle that may actually offer a protective benefit against heart disease”
“your iron status your ferritin level is very very important because that that particularly menstruating women or people have gut issues if you have gluten issues you may not absorb iron that can also be an issue”
“she was definitely iron deficient which is not uncommon because a lot of the absorbable iron comes from meat heme iron right right right right so you know when somebody's been vegan for a while they have to be a little bit more careful”
What’s on the record about the test itself?
“if your doctors are not checking your fertin levels please ask that they do um it's not enough to just know what your iron level is you have to know what that fertin level is as well”
“simple things like you know iron deficiency and B12 they're missed all the time and you know B12 and iron I'm amazed at how often they're missed and they're not treated and how much of a difference that makes in people's lives.”
“fertin is also what is known as an acute phase reactant and what that means is anytime inflammation is present in the body you will see fertin levels rise and they will rise independent of iron levels”
“when a person has an infection for example their fertin level can be high even if they are deficient in Iron”
Common questions
What is an optimal ferritin level?
45–70 ng/mL. The floor of 45 comes from one quote on video (Dr. Mark Hyman, 7:22), the ceiling of 70 from another (Dr. Elizabeth Boham, 1:36:56).
What is a normal ferritin level?
Most US labs print 15–150 ng/mL. Your report grades you against that range. It exists to catch disease, not to describe your best. Labs print different ranges by sex: about 15–150 ng/mL for women and 30–400 for men.
What does your ferritin number mean?
On a typical lab range, under 15 ng/mL is low, 15 to 150 is normal and over 150 is high. Your own report prints its range next to your number, and that is the one your lab uses. The optimal range on this page comes with the quote behind it. Labs print different ranges by sex: about 15–150 ng/mL for women and 30–400 for men.
Is ferritin of 30 normal?
A typical lab range calls it normal. On video, the optimal floor is 45 ng/mL (Dr. Mark Hyman, 7:22), so by that line it is low. Not every source agrees with that line.
Do the sources agree?
No. There is also a case for a different line: “If you were part of my high performance athletic crew, we want to see minimum 50, preferably 100. So, we have to supplement you to bring it up” (Dr. Stacy Sims, 1:09:01)
What does the ferritin test measure?
The protein your body stores iron in. So the test reads your iron reserves, not the iron in circulation. Stores run down before anemia shows. That is why fatigue and hair loss can arrive while a blood count still looks fine. It also rises with inflammation.