Whether you are an elite athlete or you do regular strenuous workouts, this can deplete your ferrum stores and lead to ferrum deficiency.
You probably won’t feel anything except maybe a little drowsy, more irritable, without appetite for exercise, with a decrease in your athletic performance, or all together.
The role of ferum in the body
Ferrum is part of hemoglobin, which is a protein in the blood that carries oxygen to all cells in the body.
The brain needs oxygen. Without enough ferrum in your body, it will be very difficult for you to concentrate and feel tired.
Ferrum deficiency in the body can impair aerobic metabolism by reducing oxygen supply to tissues and reducing muscle production capacity to use oxygen for oxidative energy production.
What happens when ferrum levels are dropped?
Some of the symptoms of low levels include chronic fatigue, loss of appetite and poor athletic performance.
The only sure way to diagnose ferrum deficiency is a simple blood test.
Why athletes are at risk?
Athletes have higher ferrum needs:
Due to the increased destruction of red blood cells when you train intensively.
Because ferrum gets lost in sweat. Endurance athletes who have high sweat losses have a higher ferrum loss.
Due to some intravascular hemolysis or injury. These often occur during intense exercise.
Because the use of anti-inflammatory drugs leads to loss of ferrum.
Because the red blood cells are destroyed when the blood passes through the lower extremities. Striking the foot on the ground essentially causes hemolysis. This is called foot-strike hemolysis and is unavoidable in runners.
Due to training at high altitude.
What can you do to replenish your ferrum stores?
Since the body itself cannot produce ferrum, you should take it from food.
Adequate intake of ferrum rich food is the secret to maintaining and maximizing your performance.
Increase the consumption of ferrum rich food. Take care to accompany the meat, fish, seafood and legumes with a little lemon.
Choose a variety of foods rich in ferrum every day.
Eat lean red meat, poultry or seafood daily. Eat lean red meat at least three to four times a week.
If you are a vegetarian, get ferrum-rich food choices in combination with vitamin C-rich foods (oranges, kiwi, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, peppers) daily to help absorb ferrum.
It has been shown that consuming 100ml of orange juice triples the absorption of ferrum.
Calcium competes with ferrum in its absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. Meals that are high in ferrum or cheese or dairy should not be accompanied.
Take a ferrum diet supplement. But ask your doctor for advice before taking it.
