Bring me a steak! Iron deficiency without anaemia.

Welcome everyone to the new year! I do apologise for my lack of content over the last few months but due to a massively hectic university schedule I had to prioritise and concentrate on my studies, but with most of my assignments out of the way for a short while I have taken the opportunity to write a few pieces of interest and hopefully get back to regular posting.

So, no doubt you were all well fed over the Christmas break, indulging in things we shouldn't speak of (myself included). Between work do's, family gatherings, Christmas day, Boxing day we have been very well nourished and im sure plenty of us had out fair share of protein!

PIC

I doubt any of us were deficient in the majority of nutrients but throughout the year we cannot ignore that our diets change back to a mundane, simple, quick-as-you-can regime, often leaning towards the handiest option. This leads to a variety of deficiencies depending on the individual and the foods consumed. Over the next couple of weeks we are going to look at a few different deficiencies, their common symptoms, long-term effects and how to treat them.

Our first in this mini-series is Iron

One of the most commonly recognised conditions in the developed and developing world is anaemia. Although this is not a disease in its own right but rather a plethera of symptoms and markers. It is officially diagnosed once an individuals haemoglobin count falls below 12g/dl for women and 13g/dl for men. Haemoglobin is the iron-based protein that carries oxygen to within the blood, all around your body.

Symptoms of anaemia can vary from person to person but those most commonly recorded are:

• Pale skin
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Increased heart rate

"But we know all this" you shout at the screen, assuming I've just copied an information leaflet from the local Doctors practice. Anaemia itself, yes is quite a well-known condition that most individuals know how treat and prevent. Iron deficiency without anaemia however may be totally new to some of you and may actually be significantly effecting your life!

It comes as no surprise that within the nutrition world you may notice that everyone is different. Every single one of us is different to the next one and so is the inner workings of the wonder that is our body. As our iron intake decreases gradually we may develop anaemia, but as stated above this happens when haemoglobin falls below a certain level. But what happens during that fall, you can hardly assumed that the symptoms come over us all of a sudden with a huge BANG! No, certainly not. Instead anaemia creeps up on us, with very subtle symptoms you may not associate with your diet.

Iron deficiency is a much more common condition with many suffered undiagnosed or misdiagnosed which is logically understandable. You, as an athlete or recurrent exerciser, may ingest an adequate amount of iron to withstand teh symptoms of anaemia but not necessarily iron deficiency. 

For example:

1. Have you ever had a day where you don't feel tired or weak but still aren't performing as well as you usually do?
2. Do you ever feel mentally, that you cant push yourself or you suddenly snap due to a terrible performance and lose yourself down a wormhole of poor performance followed unjustifiably harsh criticism.
3. Do you ever say to yourself "ah i'll finish five minutes earlier today," or you may just not be able to physically cope fulfilling a full hour of exercise.

At the time you may not associate these with a lack of iron in your body but they are signs and symptoms of your body not having the optimum stores of iron that it needs. It can be difficult to notice, and rightfully so! Your 55 minutes of training may have been just as taxing as compared to a normal day where you have performed 60 minutes. And sure, whats 5 minutes in the grand scheme o things. 

Wrong!

Its in the final stretch where we are pushing ourselves. Yeah sure you might not find a reduction in speed or strength or power but you'r not going to fulfill your potential. Fulfilling optimum iron stores can prevent such things from occurring. 

The mental state of an athletes mind is a sensitive one, and those who are amateurs, regular exercisers or just trying to lose a few stone before summer know all to well the struggles that go on inside your head when you're not allowed to eat the food you do so desire. Similar mental afflictions can occur when iron deficiency is in place. And again we usually wont associate such symptoms with iron until its too late and we suddenly have full blown anaemia. 

Ensuring you eat enough!

The RDA intake for men is 8mg/day vs. 18mg/day for women. It is a well known fact that women require more iron to replace that which is lost during the menstrual cycle. The upper limit that should not provide any adverse effects in both men and women is 45mg. So we can see there is a lot of wiggle room here. 

The exercising individual will always require an increased amount of iron compared to non-exercising individuals. This is based upon a number of principles:

• Footstrike Haemolysis: A breakdown of red bloodcells causes a release and excretion of iron out of the body within athletes - particularly endurance athletes.
• Increased demand on energy production of which iron is heavily involved, especially within the Electron Transport Chain.
• Mental stressors involved in competition and heavy training schedules.

So what are the best sources of iron (I'm sure you know of red meat, but there are more!) :

• Non-Haem based Iron:

Mushrooms

Grains

Peaches

Coconut

Asparagus

Kale

• Haem-Based Iron:

Meat & Poultry

We have an abundance of sources to chose from when it comes to iron. A varied choice is often the best option. Remember too that the examples listed above are just some of the best sources, others do exist.

Signing out,

E.