Insufficient iron in your body causes an inadequate production of hemoglobin and leads to iron-deficiency anemia. Normally, extra iron is stored in your body and then used to produce hemoglobin in new red blood cells. Most of this iron is recovered, as old red blood cells are destroyed. The small amount of iron lost from the body is replaced by iron absorbed from your diet.
Some people have little or no iron stored in their bodies.
If you are one of these people, you can stay healthy, if you balance the iron you lose with iron absorbed from your diet. If you lose more iron than you are able to absorb, anemia develops. It is important to determine whether you have anemia or some more serious underlying disorder. There are three general causes for inadequate amounts stored iron. First, there may not be enough iron in your diet to replace the amount that is lost each day.