Can someone point me in the right direction to some literature regarding proper Iron Supplementation for Anemic runners. Being a female with a hemoglobin count of 12.2, but a ferritin level of 4, how much and what type of Iron should I be taking. Can someone provide me with some references rather than just answering it too. (although i'd appreciate all feedback)
Thanks for any help!
Ask the pharmacist at Walmart for a bottle of Ferrous Sulfate Elixir (brown bottle with yellow label, made by Qualitest, $3.90). Mix with OJ (NON-Calcium OJ) and take at night before you go to bed. If you take calcium supplements, take them in the morning or at lunch.Here's the research and what's recommended:
Dave Martin's talk:
http://www.usatf.org/groups/Coaches/library/2007/EnduranceTraining/the_DEFs_of_Oxygen_Transport.pdfIron Supplementation in Distance Runners
• Liquid iron is suggested as the optimal means for non-dietary iron intake
• Our experience with 25 years of working with distance runners suggests that 1 mg elemental iron per kg body weight per day when ferritin levels are below 30 ng/ml serves to maintain ferritin levels at or above 30 ng/ml
• Example: a 50 kg woman (110 lb) needs 50 mg iron; a 60 kg man (132 lb) needs 60 mg
• One tsp liquid iron has 45 mg elemental iron; the woman could take 1 tsp. per day, the man 1 ½ tsp. per day, with orange juice
• Beware of hemochromatosis (iron storage disease), which has the same symptoms as anemia
Sports Med. 1998 Oct;26(4):207-16.
Iron supplementation in athletes. Current recommendations.
Nielsen P, Nachtigall D.
Abteilung Medizinische Biochemie, Universitäts-Krankenhaus Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
nielsen@uke.uni-hamburg.deA daily dosage of 50 to 100mg seems to be
appropriate for non-anaemic athletes....
Use of a standardised iron-containing medication
is essential. We recommend using a pharmaceutical
iron preparation (100 mg/day) with
a known high bioavailability, taken on an empty
stomach for a treatment period of 3 months....
Based on experiences with long-distance runners,
we recommend instituting controlled iron
supplementation for all athletes with serum ferritin
<35 mg/L (fig. 2). Replenishing iron stores takes 2
to 3 months of treatment with 100mg ferrous
iron/day.[9] In heavily training distance runners, repeated
iron medication (7 days/months) is necessary
to maintain the serum ferritin level at 35 mg/L,
the lower limit of normal serum ferritin values in
the general population. The determination of serum
ferritin level should be repeated once or twice
per year and supplementation should aim to restore
the serum ferritin level to a target value of about
60 mg/L.
From what I understand, ferrous sulfate is a dated product. Get ferrous bis-glycinate chelate (liquid or pill form), it is much easier to absorb and doesn't cause any stomach discomfort. I was iron deficient a while back and tried the stuff after a bit of research. It has worked for me; a chem geek would probably be able to tell you what exactly makes it better.
With that Ferritin level, you should go down to the train tracks and eat one of the rails, then you'll be good to go.
My coach has been very strict on this throughout the years. I'm not sure as to what the exact feritin levels that he looks out for but there is a certain level where he makes us take pilled iron supplements with vitamin C and then when i dips below a lower level we are required to take liquid iron with vitamin C. He has put a strong emphasis on taking iron supplements with vitamin C because it helps absorb the iron. Otherwise, most the iron would be literally flushed down the toilet.
Charming Charlie wrote:
My coach has been very strict on this throughout the years. I'm not sure as to what the exact feritin levels that he looks out for but there is a certain level where he makes us take pilled iron supplements with vitamin C and then when i dips below a lower level we are required to take liquid iron with vitamin C. He has put a strong emphasis on taking iron supplements with vitamin C because it helps absorb the iron. Otherwise, most the iron would be literally flushed down the toilet.
Charlie, was this in high school or at a college? i don't know if my college will test my ferritin levels.
slo-fe is the way to go. no prescription required.
avoid caffeine
Jeez that is low iron. I was at 10 all year for my ferritin count and I just got mine higher this summer (in the 60s now).
Get your doctor to prescribe Niferex, it's 150 mg of elemental iron. if you can't get that, buy Slow-Fe (slow release so your stomach doesn't go to hell) and take three pills a day with OJ and also vitamin C pills.
avoid calcium within 2 hours before/after taking the pill, and avoid caffein.
How'd your get that low? Were you just running a lot and not eating much iron? I hadn't been running that high mileage to merit strike foot anemia and I ate a lot of iron. Turns out I have Celiac's disease. Keep an eye open for that...if your body can't absorb things it won't matter what you're taking, your iron won't improve.
slo fe is a problem since the iron is absorbed only in the top part of your intestine and the sloe fe isn't dissolved until the bottom part of the s intestine.
Vitamin C, liquid fe (I use rugby's), in orange juice. the vit c helps absorption by a bit. If you are not a vegetarian, eat a chunk of meat with it. Liver has a very high heme content. this stuff is absorbed much easier than non organic iron.
If you are taking iron supplements, you need to get your ferritin checked every so often (3 months or so), particularly when you first start, so you don't poison yourself if you have a rarish genetic problem (not so rare you shouldn't worry about it though) that will do bad things to you. hemachromatosis or something like that.
AnemicRunner wrote:
Can someone point me in the right direction to some literature regarding proper Iron Supplementation for Anemic runners. Being a female with a hemoglobin count of 12.2, but a ferritin level of 4, how much and what type of Iron should I be taking. Can someone provide me with some references rather than just answering it too. (although i'd appreciate all feedback)
Thanks for any help!
the sports med article is the one that has saved a lot of us. "normal" ferritin...that is to say, a healthy level for running...is 35...not 5, 10 or 15 as the school nurse always tells you.
you need 100mg /day for 3 months to get healthy...hopefully it will kick in time for your championships in november.
Oral supplementation of anything is never as good as an injection or intravenous treatment.
I know the feeling you are in....one time my ferritin was 12 and I had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning! I can't imagine having a ferritin count of 4.
Ask your doctor for an injection of Cosmofer (intramuscular) or an intravenous treatment of Venofer. Both are safe and legal.
My doctors always give me an IV treatment with Venofer anytime my ferritin goes below 40.
AnemicRunner wrote:
Charlie, was this in high school or at a college? i don't know if my college will test my ferritin levels.
This was in college. My coach was very scientific about things so he would have our blood tested ever semester. He would pay for a nurse to come in and take it and mail it off to a lab. You should ask your coach or athletic trainers if they have a budget to do this. Tell them you are worried about your health.
who is bobby? sounds like a bad runner
3635635 wrote:
the sports med article is the one that has saved a lot of us. "normal" ferritin...that is to say, a healthy level for running...is 35...not 5, 10 or 15 as the school nurse always tells you.
you need 100mg /day for 3 months to get healthy...hopefully it will kick in time for your championships in november.
No no no! I posted that specific section of the article because it says 60, NOT 35! 35 might be ok if you're a sedentary person, but it's NOT ok for a distance runner. This is what doctors, nurses, and just about everyone doesn't get. They see within the "normal range", but the problem is ferritin has a high turnover rate in distance runners because of the footstrike hemolysis (another article:
http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/reprint/94/1/38). Look at Dave Martin's article too. He says at least 50. If you don't stay on top of supplementing/getting enough in your diet, it can get depleted quickly.
uh ohhhh is bobby having iron troubles? i guess that explains what happened last race............poop
wouldn't this mean that his saturday nights help him store iron?
Charming Charlie wrote:
This was in college. My coach was very scientific about things so he would have our blood tested ever semester. He would pay for a nurse to come in and take it and mail it off to a lab. You should ask your coach or athletic trainers if they have a budget to do this. Tell them you are worried about your health.
most college trainers and health center workers are unconscionably ignorant about this topic.
Do you have any brands you would recommend?