Here's How To Take Your Iron Supplement Without Getting That Dreaded Stomachache

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed as soon as you hit the vitamin and supplement aisle at the store. You’ve likely heard a lot about iron, but you may not know what the best iron supplement to take is and whether you even need one.

First, you should know this mineral serves an important function in your body. “Our cells need iron to move oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, including important organs and muscles,” says Bianca Tamburello, RDN, a nutrition marketing specialist at FRESH Communications. Iron is also a part of certain hormones and is essential for growth and brain development.

If your iron levels dip too low, you can feel really tired and cold and have trouble focusing and pale skin. One telltale sign of iron deficiency, according to Tamburello: the craving to chew ice or non-food items.

Low iron levels can lead to iron-deficiency anemia, which occurs when your body doesn’t have enough iron to make hemoglobin, a.k.a. the substance in your red blood cells that are responsible for carrying oxygen throughout your body, per Cleveland Clinic. Women who haven’t gone through menopause and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding are also more likely to develop this condition.

Eating iron-rich foods is usually the best way to boost your iron levels. “Iron is naturally present in animal foods, including meat and seafood, and can also be found in plant and fortified foods, such as beans, lentils, and fortified cereals,” Tamburello says. If you still have symptoms of iron deficiency after changing your diet, you may need to start taking a supplement.

That said, you should only take one when it’s recommended by a doctor, Tamburello says. Ask them to check your iron levels with a blood test first because having too much is harmful and can lead to issues like liver disease, heart problems, and diabetes, per Mayo Clinic.

Tamburello recommends the following supplements, taking into account the dosage, type of iron, and the fact they were verified by a third party for accuracy and potency.

Meet the expert: Bianca Tamburello, RDN, is a nutrition marketing specialist at FRESH Communications.