It’s easy to think that normal ferritin levels mean your iron status is fine. But ferritin only reflects stored iron, not what’s actually being used by the body. Iron can still be low if serum iron, binding capacity, or saturation are down, meaning it’s locked away and unusable. This often occurs when the body is dealing with inflammation, infections, gut issues, heavy metals, or even parasites. In these cases, the liver releases a signal called hepcidin, essentially “locking the bank” and preve