Buckeye Sports Nutrition

Are you feeling sluggish even though you are getting plenty of sleep every night?  Do you look in the mirror and seem to be slightly more pale than usual?  Do you feel cold all the time?  If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you could have an iron deficiency.  And you are certainly not alone, iron deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency in the world.

Iron has many functions in the body, but one of the most important is to serve as part of the proteins hemoglobin and myoglobin.  These proteins use iron to carry oxygen from the lungs to all of the body's cells.  This oxygen is used by the cells to produce energy.  Without adequate iron, energy production becomes compromised, leaving the host feeling tired and listless.  Since athletes expend more energy and need lots of oxygen to the tissues, iron is critical to good performance.

Women are at a higher risk of iron deficiency because of blood losses with the monthly cycle.  In fact, iron is the only nutrient where a woman's daily requirement (15 mg per day) is higher than a man's requirement (10 mg per day).  Women are also at a higher risk for iron deficiency because, in general, they consume fewer calories (and less food) than men.

The best food sources of iron are meat, beans, green leafy vegetables, dried fruit and cereals.  Animal sources of iron (meat) are absorbed much better than plant sources.  However, absorption can be greatly improved by consuming vitamin C with a meal containing iron.  For example, a bowl of raisin bran contains iron in the cereal and dried fruit, but drinking a glass of orange juice with the cereal, will greatly increase the body's ability to absorb this plant-source of iron.

Unless your doctor has prescribed an iron supplement, it is best to try and get your iron from foods.