<span class=”atwho-inserted” contenteditable=”false” data-atwho-at-query=”@j”>@J.R.L</span> From everything I have read by Iron Researchers and Specialists, Ferritin, as measured by blood test, is the best marker for full body iron stores. I never heard of any of them using a hair or nail test, maybe they are too new for that. Ferritin is relatively stable when compared to other markers, Serum Iron reacts to food intake (similar to blood glucose), so it can spike from a meal, especially one higher in iron (like if you ate a steak). TSAT is a calculation based on Serum Iron and Iron Binding Capacity, so also has the potential to move dramatically, based on a meal.
Ferritin is also the primary marker used when a patient is getting deironed. It falls with blood donation (aka phlebotomy) pretty reliably. I saw this myself when I decided to get deironed. It’s a process that can take months, so it is a longer term trend. Although the rule of thumb is that Ferritin will lower about 30 ng/dl with each blood donation. It’s a very rough calculation, as very high ferritin levels can drop quicker in the beginning, and it doesn’t drop nearly as dramatically as you approach the lower end of the scale.
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