The Ironclad Panel doesn’t just check whether you have “enough iron” — it maps out the entire iron economy of your body. Serum iron shows how much iron is currently circulating in your bloodstream and available for immediate use. Ferritin reflects how much iron you’ve stored in your tissues, acting like your long‑term iron savings account. Transferrin is the main protein that transports iron through your blood, and total iron‑binding capacity (TIBC) measures how much iron your transferrin could carry if it were fully loaded. When you look at all five markers together, you can see whether your body is absorbing iron properly, storing it appropriately, transporting it efficiently, or struggling with deficiency, inflammation, or overload.