19/05/2020
Iron has many important roles in the body. It is a vital component of haemoglobin, which is the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells.
Iron is also required to make myoglobin, which carries and stored oxygen in your muscle cells.
Iron deficiency the is one of the most common forms of nutrient deficiencies and can have a significant impact in sports performance, especially in aerobic activity.
♦️Athletes are at an increased risk of iron deficiency. This can be down to high intensity training increasing loss of iron and if not replaced in food or supplements form , can reduce VO2 max, reduce time until fatigue and lead to poor concentration.
♦️Females have an added loss of iron through menstrual bleeding. Vegans /Vegetarians are also at an increased risk as the bioavailability of non-haem iron in plant foods is quite low compare to haem iron in animal foods. Therefore, it can be difficult to obtain the recommended daily amount of 14.8mg for females and 8.7mg for males.
How can we prevent iron deficiency?
♦️Include iron rich sources into your diet- red meat, chicken, fish , eggs. For vegans/vegetarians include chickpeas, tofu, spinach, kale, pumpkin seeds and fortified breakfast cereals.
Also take the following into account:
♦️Vitamin C increases iron absorption. Try to combine iron rich foods with a source of Vitamin C eg. Peppers with steak , glass of orange juice with fortified cereal.
♦️Tea and coffee can inhibit iron absorption so aim to separate tea and coffee drinking from mealtimes. Leave at least an hour in between.
♦️Calcium can also inhibit absorption of iron so keep in mind if you tend to have dairy products with iron rich foods.
♦️For some people, depending on level of deficiency (varies from low deficiency to iron deficiency anemia) which will in blood results, there may be a need to supplement with iron and this will be advised by your GP.
