Women may be more predisposed to iron deficiency in general due to blood loss during menstruation. Aside from dietary choices, there are several reasons why athletes appear to be more likely to develop low iron levels than other healthy but sedentary individuals.

According to the research, iron deficiency is common in athletes for the following reasons. Hematuria: Athletes tend to experience hematuria, or blood loss through urine, after exertion, and especially after intense workouts. This type of blood loss may occur more often in endurance runners.

When the foot strikes a hard running surface, that impact can cause red blood cells to rupture. Blood lost in this way may lead to iron deficiency or iron deficiency anemia. Gastrointestinal bleeding: Distance runners especially, but other athletes as well, may experience gastrointestinal bleeding.

Loss of blood in this manner can eventually lead to low iron levels or iron deficiency anemia. Heavy sweating: Iron is also lost through sweat. Because athletes sweat heavily during workouts and competitive events, it is important for them to replenish their iron stores either through food or supplements, or a combination of these nutritional approaches.

Hepcidin: The research also suggests that athletes are at increased risk for iron deficiency because of a hormone called hepcidin, which appears to spike after intense physical activity.

Hepcidin reduces blood iron levels. Importantly, hepcidin levels seem to peak between three and six hours after a hard workout. Meaning, many athletes who try to consume iron-rich meals in that time might not be absorbing the nutrient at all. Athletes who develop low iron levels can experience the same symptoms as healthy, sedentary individuals.

They may also notice signs of low iron more closely related to their training. Note that many of the symptoms of iron deficiency can also be caused by over-training, making misdiagnosis common.

A blood test can confirm low iron levels. There are two nutritional strategies for increasing iron levels: diet and dietary supplements, the latter of which will be discussed more in the next section. As mentioned above, getting enough iron through diet alone can be difficult for many athletes, who often eschew certain foods and monitor their caloric intake.

And as has also been mentioned previously, levels of the iron-reducing hormone hepcidin can remain increased for hours after a workout, making it difficult for the body to absorb iron from food during that time. For athletes who train consistently, there may be few windows in which they can properly obtain dietary iron, making supplements a prudent choice.

Iron supplements can be used to help reverse low iron levels and to treat iron deficiency anemia in athletes. In fact, research has shown that iron supplementation can reverse any iron-deficiency-related athletic losses and improve exercise performance.

Floradix iron supplements also offer these additional benefits:. If you are an athlete who believes you may have low iron, you should talk with your doctor before adding an iron supplement to your daily regimen.

Your doctor may recommend that your iron levels be tested via blood work. This testing can verify if you are in fact deficient and in need of supplementation, and if so, the appropriate dose of iron to take in supplement form to help return your iron levels to a healthy range.

After you begin supplementing with iron, you should also have your iron levels re-checked every three to four months, as you may need to discontinue use once your iron levels are within a healthy range.

While iron deficiency has detrimental effects on the body, the reverse is also true, as too much iron can also cause health issues. Skip to content. F7CE6FEFB-AEBB5D Back to all posts. Why Is Iron Important for Athletes? Prevalence of Iron Deficiency in Athletes Instances of low iron levels and of iron deficiency anemia—a condition in which there are not enough healthy red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the body, which develops due to insufficient iron—appear to be higher among athletes than the rest of the population.

Female athletes who eat a vegetarian diet seem to be at the greatest risk for insufficient iron. Sources of Iron Iron can be found in both animal-based foods and plant-based foods.

Why Are Athletes at Greater Risk for Low Iron? What Are the Symptoms of Iron Deficiency in Athletes? General signs and symptoms of iron deficiency include: 5 Fatigue, ranging from mild to severe Sleeplessness Headaches Dizziness Low energy during the menstrual cycle Pale, dry skin and mucous membranes Cracked corners of the mouth Brittle nails and hair, including hair loss Decreased memory, attention, and learning performance Signs and symptoms of iron deficiency specific to athletes include: 6 Decline in athletic capacity, including loss of endurance Decreased exercise performance Higher-than-normal resting heart rate or exercising heart rate athletes usually have a lower resting heart rate than more sedentary individuals Shortness of breath while exercising Nausea Frequent injury Loss of interest in exercise Note that many of the symptoms of iron deficiency can also be caused by over-training, making misdiagnosis common.

Eating More Iron: Foods That Boost Iron Levels There are two nutritional strategies for increasing iron levels: diet and dietary supplements, the latter of which will be discussed more in the next section. The Benefits of Iron Supplementation Iron supplements can be used to help reverse low iron levels and to treat iron deficiency anemia in athletes.

Floradix iron supplements also offer these additional benefits: Non-constipating Free of artificial additives, synthetic preservatives, alcohol, and lactose Kosher, non-GMO, and vegetarian Environmentally friendly packaging Available in multiple formats, including liquids, tablets, and a vegan, yeast-free, and gluten-free formula Iron Supplement Precautions If you are an athlete who believes you may have low iron, you should talk with your doctor before adding an iron supplement to your daily regimen.

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A normal ferritin level can falsely suggest ferritin is within a normal range—but this does not mean the ferritin level is appropriate for an athlete to feel well.

People who are menstruating need 18 milligrams of iron per day, according to the National Institutes of Health. And people who have iron deficiency need more iron than the standard recommended amount.

Hemochromatosis causes toxic amounts of iron to build up in your body. There are also other reasons to work with your health care provider while taking iron supplements. For example, too much iron can cause painful stomach cramps.

You should take iron supplements only under the care of your provider. But if you do need to take iron, there are some common pitfalls to avoid. Here are tips for taking iron supplements:. Certain plant foods contain some iron, too. He recommends that all athletes meet with a dietitian who specializes in sports nutrition.

It can also be a marker for overall health and wellbeing, and it prompts us to look at ways to improve nutrition.

In addition to treating injuries, sports dietitians on staff can help you navigate the nutritional demands of an active life. Request an appointment, or learn more about Sports Medicine at Mass General Brigham and the teams we treat.

Skip to cookie consent Skip to main content Skip to alerts Skip to pause carousel. About Us Newsroom Iron Deficiency in Female Athletes. More alert details. Iron Deficiency in Female Athletes Contributor Adam Tenforde, MD. Jun 23, In the meantime, your iron "stores" as measured by your "ferritin" levels may have also increased from 20 to 50, again both in the "normal" range as quoted by the labs for the general, mostly sedentary population.

For what its worth, the levels that I use, which are considerably higher than what the labs use as lower limits of normal for these tests, are an Hb of and ferritin of 30 for a female athlete, and an Hb of and a ferritin of 50 in a male athlete. For athletes whose levels are below the above mentioned, who are struggling to find "their form", and in whom there is no obvious medical diagnosis to explain their fatigue, I recommend a trial of iron supplementation.

The aim being to try and get them up to their optimum level or see if they are already at their optimum. Dietary assessment is hugely important and this has been covered in previous issues but to reiterate, a "several day dietary recall" is useful to see just what the average daily intake is.

Diet alone is pretty slow in resolving significant iron deficiency so supplements pills are usually necessary to help bring levels up or see an effect more quickly. In some women, who absorb iron even more poorly than most, and who have a very slow or minimal response to iron medication by mouth, there is I believe justification for intramuscular iron injections.

Once again this is a contentious issue medically because there have been no controlled studies showing that this works better than tablets but anecdotally there is no doubt in my mind. There are risks with iron therapy intramuscularly, but these are very rare and far less common than risks associated with far more frequently used medications.

It usually results in significant increments in both scores "quickly" which gives them the benefit of training at their optimum blood count and iron levels, and they will quickly tell me whether they feel any different or not.

It then is important to make sure the improved status is maintained with serial blood testing. Not all fatigue however is iron deficiency. Not infrequently, athletes presenting with fatigue may have undiagnosed asthma, underlying viral or another infection they were not aware about, or other conditions like an overactive or underactive thyroid, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, depression or even cancer.

Every athlete presenting with fatigue needs a full work-up with a full history of their fatigue, clinical examination, and blood tests before assuming that overtraining is the culprit - it however often is! Men's Health Women's Health Children's Health Sports Health Travel Health Medication.

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Sports Health. Sports physician Dr Ruth Highet outlines her personal approach to these common problems in athletes. Overall, experts estimate that up to one-quarter of female athletes are iron deficient. Younger athletes who are still growing may also require higher levels of iron to stay healthy.

Athletes who are dieting and restricting caloric intake, as well as those who are vegetarian or vegan, may not have enough iron in their diets. Endurance athletes, especially distance runners, are also at increased risk because they are thought to lose iron through microscopic intestinal bleeding as well as tiny broken blood vessels in the soles of their feet.

Iron deficiency and anemia are not the same thing. Anemia can be viewed as a more severe form of iron deficiency, but it can also have other causes, such as inadequate levels of certain vitamins or related to other medical issues.

Iron deficiency is measured by a blood test that looks for a molecule called ferritin, which is a protein in the blood that contains iron.

A normal level of ferritin is between 11 to micrograms per liter for women and 24 to micrograms per liter for men.

Blood tests for anemia look at the quality and volume of red blood cells. The blood tests for anemia are hemoglobin and hematocrit, which are part of a complete blood count.

In addition to fatigue and slow recovery after workouts, iron deficiency and anemia may be responsible for other side effects including reduced immune function, brittle hair and nails, rapid heartbeat, dizziness and shortness of breath.

Bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, which may be due to ulcers or cancer, can be a cause of iron deficiency anemia. Goolsby says. Foods that are high in iron fall into two categories: those with heme iron and those with nonheme iron.