How many of you take Iron supplements? My coach told our team to supplement.

Be careful. Iron is easy to over do it.

I tripled my first dose so I improve quickly for upcoming meet. Was that bad?

Lmao just don't do it again, your body only absorbs so much at a time. No need to play catch up.

You arent going to improve like that. Dont eff around. You can cause harm by overdoing iron.

Oral iron supplementation is pointless. If you have an actual iron deficiency, go get an IV iron infusion and correct it on the spot instead of taking a pill that will take months for full repletion. If you don't have an iron deficiency, you don't need any supplementation at all. A daily pill is a middle ground that is rarely the best option.

This is good advice, you need enough iron, not too much. It could be dangerous.

Your iron supplements need to be absorbed, not peed or pooped out. Eat a bit of chicken liver every few days or so. But really, are you all low in iron?

Talk to a doctor first. If your iron is low, there will be no problem getting a proper dosage, guidance, etc.

But my coach said he wants us supplementing 2x to improve for regionals. Is he wrong for saying that?

No he isn’t wrong. Most good coaches are encouraging their teams to take iron. Overdoing it is very very rare. I’ve never heard of someone having a problem with too much iron.

Isn't iron generally considered to be good for females to supplement but inadvisable for males?

Uhhhhhhh ...

mayoclinic.org

Hemochromatosis - Symptoms and causes

@mayoclinic

This liver disorder causes your body to absorb too much iron from the foods you eat. Learn about symptoms, causes and treatment for this condition that usually runs in families.

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Listen to malmo.
I think it is extremely irresponsible for your coach to say, start taking iron. Have you had your blood drawn? Does your coach know the results?

Infusion isn't the required route or necessary one either for most. Real world example - Two girls last November both had SF level of 12. One took iron supplement and changed her diet, 10 months later her SF has climbed to 64. The other (mother in a hurry) had the infusion, which temporarily got it above 100, but it has settled to 37 in the same timespan. Two other girls had the same experience- high initial reading but settled to a much lower level (but still higher than the original SF reading). Proper diet (increased Heme iron intake) is still the best avenue to make a consistent improvement in iron levels. But that isn't a one-month fix either. Not everyone can tolerate the gut reactions to iron supplement (pill or otherwise), but that along with better diet should be the correct course of action, in consultation with a medical practitioner. Coaches need to be careful of blanket medical advise to their athletes - most do not have the expertise to do so.