If you’re a woman in the midst of menopause and struggling with brain fog, new research brings welcome news. A study from the University of Oklahoma reveals that maintaining healthy iron levels in the blood may significantly boost cognitive performance during this life stage, without raising the risk of harmful iron buildup in the brain.
Published in Nutrients, the study examined women going through menopause, a time when monthly blood (and iron) loss ceases. “We wanted to see if the cognitive cost of low iron disappears during this transition,” explained Dr. Michael Wenger, lead researcher and professor of psychology at OU. Until now, this connection has been largely overlooked in medical research.
The team tested iron levels in the blood, used MRIs to check brain iron accumulation, and measured attention, memory, and overall cognition. The findings were clear: women with lower-than-ideal blood iron performed worse on cognitive tasks, even if they weren’t technically iron deficient. Crucially, having enough iron in the blood did not mean higher iron deposits in the brain, which are linked to diseases like Alzheimer’s.
“If you’re even slightly low on iron, your brain may take a hit,” Wenger noted. A delay of just 150 milliseconds in response time—seen in low-iron participants—may seem small. Still, those milliseconds add up when making decisions, solving problems, or simply trying to find the right word in conversation.
Wenger also pointed out that many OB-GYN visits overlook iron testing, even though iron deficiency is a known risk factor for anemia and cognitive decline.
This study suggests that for women navigating menopause, it might be time to ask: How’s your iron doing?
