Are You Iron Deficient? 
You need iron in your blood to get oxygen to your muscles. If you have the symptoms of iron deficiency listed below, you should get yourself tested having both your haemoglobin and serum ferritin levels checked out.
One thing to remember is that iron deficiency doesn't just happen overnight. It starts slowly and is exacerbated by poor nutritional consumption. This then forces the body to tap into its reserves. Over time, these reserves become depleted causing the body to manufacture red blood cells that are smaller and carry less than normal levels of haemoglobin.
I recommend having a base test of iron levels before  summer so we can get a base number, than another blood work before school starts and monitoring during season if you are prone to iron deficiency. You can go to your doctor and get that done or you can contact me RDN for more information. Don’t wait until you have the problem to get the test (BOYS AND GIRLS).
This might not seem like a big deal but as the average lifespan of a red blood cell is 120 days, over time the smaller and more inferior red blood cells start to out-number the good ones. This severely impairs the body's ability to carry oxygen around the body, resulting in your heart needing to beat faster to ensure oxygen delivery.
 
 Symptoms include:

• Elevated heart rate

• Poor/reduced performance

• Easily exhausted

• Less enthusiasm for running and feeling very tired

• Irritability

• Feeling the cold – especially hands and feet

• A poor appetite

• Pale skin

• Shortness of breath

• Headache

• Dizziness or lightheadedness

• Inflammation or soreness of your tongue

• Brittle nails

• Unusual cravings

• Restless legs syndrome

 
Why Athletes Are at Risk
 
There are a few reasons why athletes are at a higher risk of experiencing iron deficiency compared to their non-athletic counterparts:
 
Higher requirements for iron use:

• Red blood cell mass increases, meaning athletes have higher iron needs. 

• Iron needs are higher during times of growth.
   

Increased risk of iron loss:

• Iron is lost in sweat. Athletes with high sweat loss have higher iron loss.

• Iron can be lost through gastrointestinal bleeding. Gastrointestinal bleeding is common during strenuous exercise due to minor damage to the stomach and intestinal lining.

• Habitual use of anti-inflammatory drugs leads to iron loss.

• Foot strike hemolysis, which is caused by repeated pounding of the feet on hard surfaces, can destroy red blood cells, allowing for iron to be lost.
   

The Difference Between Anemia and Sports Anemia
 
A person’s iron status can be difficult to assess from a single blood test, as strenuous exercise can increase the volume of plasma in the blood, diluting the levels of hemoglobin. This increase can sometimes incorrectly suggest there is a deficiency. This is called sports anemia. This condition does not need any treatment as it is generally found in people who are only in the early stages of a training program.
 
Iron maiden food

• The best sources of HAEM iron (which is the most absorbable iron) include liver, beef, but also poultry (especially the darker wing meat). Eggs are also a worthwhile source.

• All round health-booster oily fish is also great, for example sardines contain 5.8mg in one small tin.

Combine the above with...

• Green leafy vegetables (watercress, broccoli, spinach and curly kale – sources of calcium too)

• Bread and cereals fortified with iron

• Beans and chickpeas

• Nuts such as almonds

• Seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin

• Dried fruit such as figs, apricots, prunes, raisins

You can also try...

• Hemp sprinkled on soups

• Spirulina which has 58 times more iron than spinach

To help the body absorb iron...
Take Vitamin C to absorb the iron, try orange juice with your cereal, peppers in your salad, strawberries for dessert.
And avoid drinking tea with your meals. It contains polyphenols that can inhibit iron absorption.
 
Treating the Deficiency
 
In order to recover the depleted stores of iron in your body some form of supplementation will be needed along with a diet rich in iron containing foods. Supplementation generally involves 50mg or more of iron per day in conjunction with vitamin C to enhance absorption. This is because changing diet alone will take too long to correct the problem. Recovering your iron stores is a slow process and can take up to three months.
 
A medical professional should always be consulted before you supplement your iron, as regular use of un-needed iron supplements can interfere with zinc and copper absorption and may have negative effects on the immune system. In a portion of the population, a genetic disorder called hemochromatosis allows excess iron to be absorbed. This iron overload disorder affects around 1 in 300 Caucasians. In this condition, too much iron in the cells and tissues can cause irreversible damage along with a high risk of cancer and heart disease. Always ask your doctor or a dietitian (me) to check your iron status first before you take iron supplements. As a side note it is impossible for a healthy, normal person to absorb too much iron from their diet.
 
Supplements

• Floradix Liquid Iron Formula – also contains vitamins, especially cultured yeast and ocean kelp

• Blood Builder

Fernanda Aguiar RDN