4 Best Iron Deficiency Tests Of 2024 To Check Your Levels At Home

Iron is one of the most important nutrients in our bodies—yet it's still one of the most common nutritional deficiencies in the world.

An estimated 10 million people in the U.S1. are iron deficient, with another 5 million meeting the criteria for iron deficiency anemia. And while you might think your diet has enough iron, it's actually one of the most difficult minerals to absorb, especially from plant-based food sources.

Checking your iron levels is as easy as a simple blood test, which doesn't have to be completed at the doctor's office. The best at-home iron deficiency test your iron or ferritin levels (iron stored in your body) to provide insight on whether your current diet is up to par.

You may have heard the term anemia and refer to it simultaneously as iron deficiency—but the two conditions have clinical differences.

Iron deficiency (ID) is defined as the decrease in the total content of iron2 in the body.Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) occurs when iron deficiency is severe enough to reduce the production of red blood cells. And while, yes, they are clinically different, iron deficiency can be a precursor to iron-deficient anemia. 

Iron is a mineral that is essential for our bodies to function. Most importantly, it is part of hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen throughout our body. It also is part of myoglobin, a protein that stores oxygen in muscles—which explains why fatigue is one of the leading symptoms of iron deficiency, caused by the lack of oxygen to your organs and muscles. 

Iron is essential for healthy brain development and growth in children as well, along with the normal functioning of various cells and hormones. 

A lack of iron affects the number of red blood cells carrying oxygen to essential organs like the brain and heart. Being deficient in iron can cause a myriad of symptoms and can lead to iron-deficient anemia.

Food is our main source of iron, and a diet sufficient in iron will typically sustain normal levels in our bodies—as long as there are no underlying issues with absorption. Foods contain two types of iron, heme and non-heme. Heme iron comes from meat, fish, and poultry. Heme iron is much more easily absorbed compared to non-heme. Non-heme iron is found in plant-based foods such as nuts, fruits, and vegetables—but at much lower levels. 

Low iron levels have a cascade of symptoms stemming from a basic lack of oxygen to your organs. Because iron is vital to hemoglobin, which transports oxygen to your organs, any lack of iron will slow down this process.

Should you discover that you are, in fact, iron deficient, what happens next? First, discuss the results of your at-home or traditional lab tests with your health care provider. They may need to order additional tests to discover more about your iron health and the need for iron supplementation.  

Iron supplementation comes in different forms, based on the root cause of your deficiency—which could be a myriad of things, including low iron intake, trouble storing iron, issues transporting iron to your organs, or a dysfunction in absorption. 

While iron deficiency is extremely prevalent, iron-specific tests are not as common as other at-home tests on the market today. A true iron deficiency diagnosis will take at least an iron, ferritin, and total iron binding capacity (TIBC) test to see the full picture of how iron is being used by your body. However, at-home testing brands currently only offer ferritin tests, which is the amount of iron stored in your body.

Although these tests are a convenient and less expensive starting point, ferritin testing only gives you a glimpse of how iron is stored in your body. For instance, you could be eating a diet very high in iron, but your ferritin levels are still low. If you do not complete further testing, you would assume by the low ferritin number that you are not getting enough iron, whereas in reality your body is simply not absorbing it effectively.

This is a distinct type of ferritin test, as the results are almost instant. Much like an at-home COVID-19 or urine pregnancy test, the test outcome will be visible within minutes—so there is no need to mail in your sample and wait for results. While this sounds incredibly convenient and does save you a lot of time, the disadvantage is that your result is simply labeled as "normal" or "abnormal." The test does not offer a quantitative number to show how low or high your levels are. 

Typically, if your iron test result is just on the cusp of abnormal, you can make small dietary changes to increase your iron levels. However, if your levels are very low you may need to take an iron supplement. It's important to speak with a doctor to get a better understanding of why your levels are low and how to proceed from there. Equally important, you would not want to start taking a significant amount of iron supplements without consulting a doctor, as too much iron can cause other issues.

It's important to note that this company is based in the U.K., so its standards for "normal" may differ from the U.S. 

This is a distinct type of ferritin test, as the results are almost instant. Much like an at-home COVID-19 or urine pregnancy test, the test outcome will be visible within minutes—so there is no need to mail in your sample and wait for results. While this sounds incredibly convenient and does save you a lot of time, the disadvantage is that your result is simply labeled as "normal" or "abnormal." The test does not offer a quantitative number to show how low or high your levels are. 

Typically, if your iron test result is just on the cusp of abnormal, you can make small dietary changes to increase your iron levels. However, if your levels are very low you may need to take an iron supplement. It's important to speak with a doctor to get a better understanding of why your levels are low and how to proceed from there. Equally important, you would not want to start taking a significant amount of iron supplements without consulting a doctor, as too much iron can cause other issues.

It's important to note that this company is based in the U.K., so its standards for "normal" may differ from the U.S. 

Like the previous two, the Lab Me kit tests ferritin levels only. As mentioned, this only gives a small window into your iron levels. This test does include a detailed instructional video outlining directions on how to perform your finger prick blood sample that is clear and concise.

This at-home ferritin test offers a detailed result report through a secure portal. The simple finger-prick sample method is quick and easy for almost any adult to conduct. 

Cerascreen is very transparent in explaining that the test result values are not meant for pregnant or breastfeeding mothers. If pregnant or breastfeeding, your results will still reveal an accurate level, but the test may mark them as abnormal when they actually could be normal based on your iron needs during this time. You will need to do your own research on normal levels for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers or discuss it further with your health care provider.

If you have symptoms of low iron, you might want to use an at-home test to check your ferritin levels. People who are taking an iron supplement will also want to monitor their iron levels regularly, to make sure they are not over-supplementing. Vegetarians and vegans need to pay close attention to their iron levels, in order to be sure they are consuming enough iron from non-heme sources. At-home tests are convenient and cost effective for each of these purposes. 

The drawback of at-home iron testing is that, at this time, the only option is to test only your ferritin levels. The total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) is another element of iron testing that is not available for home-testing, along with serum iron. Getting a full picture of iron deficiency takes more than one test—so a visit to your doctor is always recommended.