Iron Protocol Basics

According to the American Society of Hematology, these ranges represent the amount of elemental iron in milligrams needed for people with iron deficiency. These ranges top out at 400mg, which you should not exceed daily.

Different types of iron supplements have different weights

Some iron supplements have one amount of iron on the front of the bottle and a different amount on the back panel.

For example, a label might show "Iron (as ferrous sulfate) 65 mg" for a 325 mg ferrous sulfate tablet, where 65 mg is the elemental amount on the back.

In the USA, under 21 CFR 101.9, the Supplement Facts box must contain the actual, elemenetal amount of iron in the supplement.

This converter is to give you a sense of actual iron in various compounds. Don't just plug in the number the back of your bottle -- that back of the bottle number IS the amount of iron you want.

There are multiple iron compounds available for supplementation over the counter, and they each yield different amounts of elemental iron. Below are some of the common forms and conversion to elemental iron:
• Ferrous Sulfate - Contains 20% elemental iron
• Ferrous Gluconate - Contains 12% elemental iron
• Ferrous Fumarate - Contains 33% elemental iron
• Polysaccharide-iron complex - Contains 46% elemental iron
• Ferrous bisglycinate chelate - Amounts vary on the formulation, we will follow typical % in the calculator
• Iron citrate - Amounts vary on the formulation, we will follow typical % in the calculator

Example: 325 mg of ferrous sulfate yields 65 mg elemental iron (i.e. 325 mg * 0.20 = 65 mg elemental iron). You can usually verify "elemental iron" on the product label. [Source] Some labels on the back just say "iron" without the word "elemental" though. The back label of an iron supplement bottle often states the actual iron content.

AGAIN -- despite what the calculator says, you should go by the elemental mg amount on the back of the bottle.

Don't let concerns about ferritin loss from a blood draw be the reason you don't get medically necessary tests!

Lavender (EDTA):
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Red (No additive or clot activator):
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Gold or Tiger Top (SST):
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Gray (Fluoride/oxalate):
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Pink (EDTA/Blood Bank):
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Royal Blue (Trace Elements):
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