Iron & Runners

FrenchMob

I've been borderline anemic all my life....every blood test I've had my hemoglobin number has been 1-2 point below the lower limit. I found this article and will discuss supplementing with my Dr. I can only imagine how my running performance could be if I had adequate iron levels.

http://pfitzinger.com/labreports/iron.shtml

NitaCB

Hi. Sorry I haven't read the link yet as I'm on my iPod touch. I was training for my first full earlier this year when eventually I was at a point where I could hardly get through week of training, I felt wasted all the time and I had constant nagging injuries. Turned out it was cos my iron was low, not anemic just deficient. But the effect was massive. I took double the dose I was prescribed and when it kicked in a good month or so later I felt so much better. Needless to say, I had to change the full plans down to a half, and it may have been a contributing factor in my stress fracture that I ended up running that race with.

I now take iron tablets daily, just as maintenance. Do you eat red meat? I try and make myself have it twice a week, but I probably wouldn't bother if I didn't need to. Some people just always struggle to keep adequate iron levels apparently. Bit of a hassle isn't it?

rachel5576

very interesting article thanks!

FrenchMob

I eat red meat a min of twice a week, sometimes 3. According to my food diary here I average 130-160 %DV of iron so I know I'm getting enough through diet, but my body may not be absorbing it efficiently. The article stats the endurance athlete will have a tendency to be iron deficient because of various factors, but I was deficient before I even started exercising a couple years ago, so now the issue is compounded.

scotrunner

That is an interesting article, thanks for posting! I know I have low iron, I have been refused from giving blood twice and told to wait 6 months before trying again. I forget exactly what my hb levels were. I take an a-z every day and also water naturally high in iron called 'spatone' (I'm in the uk). I tend to exceed the RDA every day looking at my diary so hopefully things will improve for me and my running. I also drink tea 1 hour before my meals and no sooner than 2hours after so as not to affect iron absorption. Such a shame being a runner can have disadvantages like this!

RAFValentina

Bump... been looking for info on this and on calcium issues too... and general nutrition for female runners not wanting to gain weight!