Hi guys, Not related to my illness, but upon reading articles trying to find out what is wrong with me (check my training log) I found some info about athletes suffering from low iron. The article was actually about runners and saying because runners tend to train for almost an hour 3-4 times a week they are prone to Low Iron and possibly even Anaemia... Well I was thinking... an hour 3-4 times a week!? I myself train about 2-3 hours 5 days a week and I know people who train even more than me... Symptoms include: - Shortness of breath - Irregular/pounding Heartbeat - Heartbeat which shoots up when doing anything moderately athletic - Reduced recovery times - Reduced performance when training - Headaches / Dizziness / Co-ordination Problems - Tiredness / Loss of drive Anyway, I thought I would ask... as interested... sounds like a lot of people I know... p.s. the only way you would know is if you have had blood tests recently. DO NOT take iron supplements without seeking doctors advice... will make you sick (and have black poo!)
I just said this had nothing to do with me I will PM you if you are really interested in my condition bro.
A good healthy balanced diet is always the first thing to check out. Over training can mess with your body big time as well. So can burning the candles at both ends....ie; late nights and early mornings,a bit too much "socializing" with a busy workload in between.:tired Vegetarians can go through stuff that fits a lot of those symptoms too.Everyone is different so cant say they all do,but some do. Back in the day when i heard that lack of iron can make you feel tired i started taking iron tablets everyday to fix myself :rofl.....after 6months i read that only a small amount of iron was absorbed by taking the tablets so i stopped. Red meat has far more iron by volume than spinach,but popeye just liked spinach i guess....:hey
Ive had animea my entire life and I know from my experience that it does give me headaches almost everyday and has a huge effect on my energy level. However, I started to take iron pills and add more iron to my diet and it has really helped. Another thing that helps is to train like you have all the energy in the world; you will soon forget that you are tired and your body will follow suit.
Athletes and Red Blood Nutritional Needs For consistent performance athletes have to take care of their red blood nutritional needs. Just as water and hydration have a direct effect on performance, so too does being Iron and Red Blood Athletes from recreational to Olympic status experience reduced performance because of low hemoglobin and low hematocrit levels. Red blood cells (erythrocytes) that carry oxygen make up 35-50% of the blood. The proportion of the blood made of red blood cells is measured by the hematocrit. A hematocrit of 50 provides 25% more red blood cells than a hematocrit of 40, with a similar increase in the amount of oxygen delivered to the muscles. Each red cell is 25% - 35% hemoglobin, the red pigment made from iron and other nutrients, that carries 100% of your oxygen. The greater the amount of hemoglobin per cell, the greater the possible amount of oxygen delivered to the muscles. Many athletes try to adjust their nutrition to increase their hemoglobin. But it's not so easy to do so. Studies of male distance runners show they have hemoglobin levels below those of sedentary controls. Also, there are studies which show the iron status of both male and female endurance athletes to be below that of the general population. Low iron stores, low hemoglobin, low hematocrit, lead to reduced performance. How Much Iron Is Used? Iron cannot be skipped, it's essential for making hemoglobin. A mere 10% drop in hemoglobin levels can reduce endurance performance by 20-25%. A boost in the normal hemoglobin levels can increase performance by 20-25%. Therefore the right amount of iron is an essential component of every athlete's diet. But how much is the right amount? Sedentary males use about 1.0 mg per day for a wide variety of bodily functions. Sedentary females use a bit more, about 1.5 mg per day, because of monthly menstruation losses. Athletes use these sedentary amounts, plus a lot more. An athlete sweats approximately 1.3 liters per hour while training on a medium sunny day. In that sweat he loses about 0.5 mg of iron per hour. If he trains real hard for 3 hours a day, the iron loss comes to 1.5 mg. Then there is loss by hemolysis (destruction of red blood cells). Heavy exercise breaks blood cells, the blood leaks and is then excreted from the body. Compression hemolysis, the crushing of blood cells by intense muscle contraction, occurs in almost any sport, running, swimming, cross-country skiing, bodybuilding, cycling, swiiming, rowing, etc. Its a potent source of iron loss in athletes. If we add all the causes of iron loss for an athlete training heavy, 3 hours a day, it comes to: Male Athletes: 3.5 mg Female Athletes: 4.1 mg Its quite a bit considering that only 10% of the iron in a good diet is bioavailable. Therefore to get sufficient iron a male athlete in heavy training requires a minimum of 36 mg of iron, and a female athlete 41 mg - every day. Anemia Quiz Lately it feels like you aren't as strong or as fast as you used to be. You're always out of breath. What used to feel like a short run keeps getting longer. You're finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning. You train harder and get no results. Does this mean you are out of shape? Not necessarily. You may be suffering from low iron, a common source of fatigue among runners. Iron deficiency reduces running performance by limiting the amount of oxygen circulating through your body, which must be overcome by increasing your heartbeat and breathing rate. Blood loss, heavy sweating, and absence of iron in the diet all directly affect your iron stores. Some studies suggest that repeated pounding of the feet causes a rupture of blood vessels, which may result in an iron deficiency. Female runners may lose blood through menstruation, making them more susceptible. Other causes of a deficiency may include bladder irritation due to running, and blood loss through stool. Iron is an essential component of Hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying pigment in the blood. Iron is normally obtained through the food in the diet and by recycling iron from old red blood cells. Without it, the blood cannot carry oxygen effectively -- and oxygen is needed for the normal functioning of every cell in the body. The causes of iron deficiency are too little iron in the diet, poor absorption of iron by the body, and loss of blood (including from heavy menstrual bleeding). Anemia develops slowly after the normal stores of iron have been depleted in the body and in the bone marrow. Women, in general, have smaller stores of iron than men and have increased loss through menstruation, placing them at higher risk for anemia than men.
Food Serving size Iron supplied 2 thick slices of lean roast beef 90g 2.3mg 3 tablespoons of baked beans 120g 1.7mg A boiled egg 50g 1mg Wholemeal bread (1 average slice) 36g 1mg Sardines canned in oil (average sandwich filling) 50g 1.5mg An average bowl of fortified breakfast cereal 45g 3mg 2 dried figs 40g 1.7mg Dark roast turkey meat (average serving) 120g 1.7mg A tablespoonful of sesame seeds 12g 1.2mg Spring greens boiled 90g 1.3mg An average glass of red wine 125g 1.1mg
