Discussion: aneamia

Hi,
I have recently been told that I am aneamic and although it is rather frustrating, in a way it is good news as I know why I was going downhill in training and races.

I was wondering if anyone else has suffered the same thing and I am told is is common in females who do quite a lot of training. Just wonder how long other people took to recover and return to full fitness? If they were also put on iron tablets? (I am curretly on three a day) and if they had to stay on these after they were back to normal? Any other advice etc would be greatly appreciated.

Certainly no fun when I am used to competing at a high level (ran for Scotland and been on Great Britain tours) to being beat by people a lot younger including my younger sister because I am running so poorly I often have to stop or walk.

Thanks

If you are taking Iron supplements you should focus on increase the absortion of what you take. You should consider taking vitamin C along with the Iron. All your supplements should be in caplet form and not tablets as tablets are not readily digested and you just end up crapping them out undigested. Also you could consider chelated form but there is some debate about its effectiveness.

I can feel the supplement flame breathing down the back of my neck.

I had to take iron for about 3 months. My hb was 91/120 and my normal values are about 125-135. First I was taking 200mg a day but it was a bit too much for me so after a couple of months I redused it to 100mg. My hb rose pretty quickly but it's important to keep taking the iron long enough the get the storage iron values to a good level too. I'd also recommend you to avoid very hard training sessions in the beginning. Easy endurance training should be no problem.

For me it took about 5 months to get to a good shape after the anemia. I quit training for a month in April/May 2006 and started training again when my blood values were good enough. I was in a good shape in September. You'll really feel the difference!

Any food supplementation is a two-edged sword: you want to attain a proper level of a nutrient, without getting too much and causing other problems. Various people absorb iron at different rates. And excessive iron has been implicated in heart problems, so you certainly don't want to overdo it. The NIH recommends iron supplements be taken in two or three fractions per day for optimum delivery.

This US National Institute of Health (NIH) iron supplementation factsheet has some excellent information you might find helpful.

...Many men and women who engage in regular, intense exercise such as jogging, competitive swimming, and cycling have marginal or inadequate iron status. Possible explanations include increased gastrointestinal blood loss after running and a greater turnover of red blood cells. Also, red blood cells within the foot can rupture while running. For these reasons, the need for iron may be 30% greater in those who engage in regular intense exercise.

Three groups of athletes may be at greatest risk of iron depletion and deficiency: female athletes, distance runners, and vegetarian athletes. It is particularly important for members of these groups to consume recommended amounts of iron and to pay attention to dietary factors that enhance iron absorption....