How quick can you restore Iron levels?

Factors involved:

How low are the iron stores?

How does your body absorb the iron? (everyone is different)

It takes time.

Get yourself a good daily iron supplement and take it at night before you go to bed. Make sure that you take Vit. C and B vitamins with your Iron to increase absorbtion.

You are looking at about 2-3 months to get your iron stores back up.

Cut out the caffiene if possible, and do not take calcium at the same time as iron. Calcium inhibits Iron absorbtion.

I take a good Iron supplement called "IBERET" which has a whopping 125mg of iron per tablet. It has B and C already in the pill. Good stuff.

Watch your iron closely. I had iron-depletion in June of 2001 and it destroyed my Summer/Fall competitions that year.

Jason

I heard if you take too much iron supplements, that it will deplete either your zinc or copper...don't remember which....

What are other issues with taking too much iron supplements?

Drink a Guiness for every 10 miles you run. Kinda like having a steak in a can.

Wow, 2-3 months is a long time. I thought I could just eat liver and onions daily for a week and I'd be ok. Liver is oddly very good with pasta and marinara sauce and much cheaper than steak. 3 servings for $2.

Welcome back, Jason! We all knew that the LetsRun.com addiction would bring you back eventually. Glad to see ya here!

Iron is required for the formation of the hemoglobin in red blood cells. Low iron = less hemoglobin in the RBCs. RBCs live on average about 120 days, so once you form RBCs with lower levels of hemoglobin, they are going to travel through your body for 4 months whether you increase your iron or not. When you increase your iron intake, the new RBCs that are forming will contain more hemoglobin. But until all the old hemoglobin-depleted RBCs die, you won't feel 100%. I agree with Jason that it will take a good 2 to 3 months to feel good, but I think it will take about 4 months to be at 100% again.

Jason, 125mg in one supplement? That's too much, you can overdo it with iron. Liver problems can result.

I don't understand why ou would not want to take suppliments. There is an iron product called "Slow Fe" and that is coated so that it absorbs over a longer period of time. If you are really iron deficient, and not just tired for another reason, this is definately a step in the right direction.

I would recommend you see a doctor and get a blood test.

Jason,

What effect does caffiene have on iron absorbtion? I am a college runner who just found out I have low iron, and now have to go on a supplement. I do consume about 24oz of french press made coffee a day, and have been doing so for a while now. I don't notice anything diff in my training though. I am only doing about 90-95 mpw.

bump

Jason (Hi!)

You are right to say that restoring iron deficiency can take time.

Doh, I'd be interested to know your ferritin and Hgb numbers. Email them to me if you prefer. Low numbers are quite common among runners, for reasons such as increased intestinal bleeding (which is not dangerous) to literally breaking blood vessels in your feet and losing red blood cells that way.

However, again depending on your numbers, there's no evidence that slightly low levels of ferritin and hgb will affect your athletic performance.

Now, regarding the enormous dose of iron that Jason suggests, even with vitamin C to enhance uptake, you should know that even if you present 100 mg of elemental iron to your intestine, only 2-3 maximum will be taken up. This means that replacing a significant iron deficit can take up to a year.

However, way the most readily absorbed form of iron is hemin from red meat. I would suggest you make sure you consume lean red meat more than once a week and forget about the tabs. It's much more enjoyable too! Add in a good amount of citrus fruit to replace the vitamin C tab. And give it time...

AD

Would you also suggest cutting back in mileage? I run between and 65-80 mpw and over the past month or so - I have noticed my times getting slower, I am more fatigued and my recovery time is longer. I have given up my fall marathon but want to run a winter or early spring marathon but I want to make sure that I will at my best to run a fast marathon...If I cut my mileage to 40 mpw, will I lose a significant amount of fitness, will I get fat?? Any suggestions