These are:. You Lerformance lose iron in a number of ways, according to Dr. For persons with iron deficiency, the body also has a built-in enhancement mechanism, which allows for much greater iron absorption than say just adding an orange to your meal 1.

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Toxic Effects of Iron Overload – Dr. Berg

Iron levels and athletic performance -

Oh, and iron is also one of the most common substances that children accidentally overdose on! So what is it about iron that has endurance athletes in a trance? Some tout its potential ergogenic benefits, the solution to my fatigue, the answer to improving hemoglobin, the cure for lagging performance.

Others throw around words like hemochromatosis and iron overload syndrome. My aim in this short article is to debunk some of the myths of iron, but also to give you, the athlete and coach, some tools to help make better educated decisions regarding taking iron—after all, you can buy it in the grocery store so it must be good right?

The story of iron begins with its purpose in the human body. Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood; iron also plays a role in the transfer of oxygen in the muscle cell.

Yet despite its clear importance and relevance to an endurance athlete, the human body has a sophisticated mechanism for minimizing absorption of iron and for ensuring that iron is not floating around free in your blood stream.

The primary way your body stores and transports iron is as ferritin. Remember this word. When your ferritin levels are adequate, you have enough iron in your body. If ferritin levels are too low, you are short on iron.

If the athlete also has low hemoglobin and hematocrit levels, then he or she has IDA. For athletes with IDA, the evidence is clear that a daily oral iron supplement is beneficial in improving athletic performance. However, there is controversy about whether iron supplementation in athletes with ID alone is helpful.

The decision to start iron supplementation in ID should be shared between the athlete, physician, and potentially, a dietician. Iron supplementation without knowing iron levels is not recommended. Iron is best absorbed in the form of food, as opposed to iron supplements, so increasing the intake of iron-rich foods is important to treating both ID and IDA.

Iron-rich foods include animal protein such as red meat, chicken, and fish, as well as non-animal sources, including iron-enriched cereals and pastas, beans, and dark-green leafy vegetables. Iron supplement absorption is improved with vitamin C supplementation.

Orange juice without calcium is a great option to take with the supplement. Iron supplements should not be taken with milk, coffee or calcium tablets, as these can reduce the absorption of iron. Finally, iron supplements can cause constipation, so increasing dietary fiber intake and considering a fiber supplement is important.

Prevention Eating a healthy diet with foods rich in iron is a good way to help maintain normal iron stores in the body. As meat is a good source of iron, athletes who adhere to a vegetarian or vegan diet should be particularly careful to ensure adequate dietary iron consumption.

Return to Play Athletes with symptoms like weakness, shortness of breath, or heart palpitations will likely have difficulty in competition, and exercise restriction may be considered until the athlete feels better.

As iron levels increase, the athlete will likely experience improved symptoms and expect to return to a normal level of athletic performance. Authors: AMSSM Members Kyle V. Goerl, MD; Cindy J. sales insidetracker. com Support center. All rights reserved.

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This article was ,evels by James Lvels. Weinstein, Perfomance, RD. Oh, and iron is athletjc one of the Iron levels and athletic performance common substances that children accidentally overdose on! So what is it about iron that has endurance athletes in a trance? Some tout its potential ergogenic benefits, the solution to my fatigue, the answer to improving hemoglobin, the cure for lagging performance. Others throw around words like hemochromatosis and iron overload syndrome.