Female athletes, particularly endurance athletes, often have signs of iron deficiency. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes, iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency. Iron deficiency, also called anemia, reduces the ability of your red blood cells to carry sufficient oxygen throughout the body. In fact, according to the Body Results website, as many as 80 percent of women athletes might be iron deficient. You can be iron deficient with no symptoms, but female athletes are likely to see a decrease in performance and eventually more serious health symptoms, if the condition is not diagnosed and addressed. The usual remedy is to increase your intake of iron rich foods, but iron supplementation often is recommended. This should be done under a doctor's instructions since excessive amounts of iron are toxic.
Causes
Young women should get 18 mg of iron per day, according to the Estronaut website. However, most young women don't consume sufficient amounts, and iron often is poorly absorbed. Low calorie and low fats produce iron and other deficiencies. In addition, menstruation depletes iron. So does sweating. And hard training promotes red blood cell production, increasing the need for iron. Add up all those factors and it is little wonder that many women athletes are deficient in iron.
Symptoms
If your normal practice routine finds you more fatigued than usual, or your performance times start to slip for no apparent reason, a blood test for iron deficiency is warranted. In fact, some college athletic programs regularly test its female athletes for iron deficiency. If the deficiency becomes greater, your symptoms can include dizziness, weakness, shortness of breath, headache, poor concentration, a desire to chew on ice, irritability, rapid heartbeat and loss of appetite.
Sources
If you are deficient in iron, your doctor will recommend upping your intake of iron-rich foods. Sources of iron include lean red meat, seafood, poultry, whole grain bread, vegetables such as spinach and other leafy green vegetables, beans and peas and cereals fortified with iron. Diet-related iron deficiencies can be common to vegetarians. Citrus and other foods rich in vitamin C helps absorb iron. But calcium reduces iron absorption, as do eggs, tea and coffee.
Considerations
Do not try to diagnose and treat yourself for iron deficiency. First, only a blood test by a doctor knowledgeable about anemia and athletes is likely to yield a definitive diagnosis. Iron supplements must be prescribed and monitored, because excess iron builds up in tissues and organs. There is even a condition called footstrike anemia, caused by running on hard surfaces in poorly conditioned or constructed shoes. It results in mildly enlarged red blood cells.
Member Comments