How Healing Your Gut Can Raise Low Ferritin Levels Naturally

I’m going to show you how improving your gut health is one of the most important steps in raising low ferritin levels so you can feel better.

My name is Dr. Tom Rofrano from the Natural Medicine Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and I’m the author of the FreeDiet®. I’ve been blessed to have seen over 100,000 patient visits over the last 38 years, many involving gut and thyroid issues. Low or high ferritin levels are extremely common, and this patient was no exception.

Her Symptoms: Fatigue, Gut Issues, Hair Loss & Thyroid Problems

This patient came in with:

• Bloating
• Constipation
• Indigestion
• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Hair loss
• Overweight
• Enlarged thyroid with multiple nodules
• Hyperparathyroidism

Her lab testing revealed low ferritin — a level of 10.

Most labs list ferritin ranges between 10–150 (or up to 400 in men), so technically she was “normal.” But she was not anemic, and her hemoglobin looked fine, which is why no one had ever checked ferritin before.

However, optimal ferritin levels are 50–80, depending on the individual. A level of 10 can cause many of the same symptoms as anemia, including:

• Fatigue
• Brain fog
• Anxiety
• Hair loss

She also had:

• High glucose
• Insulin resistance
• Adrenal dysfunction
• High parathyroid hormone
• High inflammation

Root Causes Revealed Through Functional Testing

To understand why her ferritin was so low, we ran deeper functional testing across five key areas.

1. Deficiencies

She was low in:

• Vitamin D
• Folate
• B vitamins
• CoQ10

Low ferritin often occurs alongside other nutrient deficiencies.

2. Gut Infections

She had:

• Candida yeast overgrowth
• Bacterial overgrowth

3. Food Reactions

• Celiac genetics
• Gluten sensitivity
• Leaky gut
• Multiple food reactions

4. Hormonal Imbalance

• Adrenal dysfunction

5. Toxins

• High mercury levels

One of the most common causes of low ferritin I see is gut malabsorption, often driven by:

• Food reactions (especially gluten)
• Yeast and bacterial overgrowth
• H. pylori
• Parasites

This patient had several of these root causes.

Her Results After 7 Weeks

After putting her on a specific diet and supplement plan, her results were remarkable.

Ferritin Increased Over 500%

Her ferritin rose from 10 to 66 — a 560% increase — in just 7 weeks.

Other Lab Improvements

• Glucose dropped 20 points to normal
• Insulin improved
• White blood cell count improved
• Hemoglobin improved
• DHEA improved
• Parathyroid hormone PTH dropped 121 points to normal

Symptom Improvements

• Hair loss improved significantly
• Thyroid swelling decreased
• More energy
• Better digestion
• Losing inches around her waist

She was feeling dramatically better.

Step 1: The FreeDiet® — An Anti-Inflammatory Healing Diet

The first step was an anti-inflammatory diet. I call it the FreeDiet®, which I developed years ago while healing my own Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroid condition, rheumatoid arthritis, IBS, fatigue, and skin issues.

The FreeDiet® is free of:

• Gluten
• Grains
• Sugar
• Yeast
• Dairy
• Eggs
• Soy
• Legumes
• Nightshades
• Processed foods

These foods are the most common triggers for inflammation, gut issues, thyroid dysfunction, and chronic health problems.

If you’d like a copy of the FreeDiet® Phase 1 Food Chart, I’ll include a link below.

Step 2: Targeted Supplements to Raise Ferritin & Heal the Gut

Along with the diet, she took supplements tailored to her needs.

The Functional Five (Foundational Supplements)

• Multivitamin
• Fish oil
• Vitamin D with K
• Magnesium
• Probiotic

Iron Supplementation

The specific iron I use is iron glycinate — gentle and highly absorbable.

She took:

• 4 per day (almost 120 mg total)
• Along with vitamin C to enhance absorption

Gut Support

To address yeast, bacterial overgrowth, and leaky gut:

• Gut Immune Repair
• CandidaSolve
• Microbial balancing formulas

Hormone & Adrenal Support

• Adrenal support formulas

Nutrient Repletion

• B-complex
• Iodine (only because she was deficient)
• Other nutrients she was low in

Her Transformation

By healing her gut, correcting deficiencies, and supporting her thyroid and adrenals, she was able to:

• Raise ferritin from 10 to 66
• Improve energy and brain function
• Reduce thyroid swelling
• Improve hair loss
• Normalize blood sugar and inflammation
• Feel dramatically better in just 7 weeks

The Bottom Line

If you have low ferritin or other chronic health issues, the key is to identify the root causes. When you get the proper testing and the right solutions, I believe almost anyone can get better.

Go here if you would like a free copy of the FreeDiet® phase 1 food chart.