Tired, listless, and lethargic. These can be signs of an iron deficiency. Endurance athletes in particular are often affected. 

The body needs iron. It is bound to the red blood cells and responsible for the transport of oxygen. There are 2 to 4 grams of iron in the body. An iron deficiency is when ferritin, a special protein in the blood that transports iron, is lower than 15 (to 33) ?g/l. 

Tiredness, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, restlessness, and listlessness right up to depression are signs that suggest a lack of iron. It is estimated that around 10% of women aged between 20 and 49 and roughly 2 to 4 percent of men suffer from an iron deficiency.

Women are affected much more frequently than men because they lose iron during menstruation and are more likely not to eat meat, which is a well-known source of iron. Endurance runners also lose some blood in their urine, and it is believed that the foot strike impact bursts red blood cells when running, thus losing the iron that is released in the process. For men, harmless minor haemorrhages in the gastrointestinal tract are usually the cause of an iron deficiency. 

Three ways to get more iron

There are three ways to fix an iron deficiency: 

• via your diet
• via tablets
• via injections or infusions

It makes sense to initially treat an iron deficiency with an optimised diet; which should also take priority when it comes to prevention. It is important to eat a well-balanced diet with enough iron-rich foods such as pulses, wheat germ, sesame, and meat, etc. Vitamin A and C as well as carotenoids also increase the absorption of iron in the intestine, so drink a glass of orange juice with your meal.

Dairy products, coffee, black tea, soya, phosphates in cola and oxalic acid in spinach, on the other hand, inhibit the absorption of iron in the intestine. If a poor diet has been identified as the sole cause of the iron deficiency, changing your diet can be enough to fix the deficiency. 

The most common remedy: tablets

If the symptoms such as tiredness are pronounced and also do not disappear with a good diet, an oral or intravenous treatment may be advisable, i.e. the administration of tablets, infusions or injections.

Topping up your iron reserve with tablets is the older and still most widespread of the two medical methods. Iron tablets are inexpensive compared with infusions or injections. Around 20% of patients suffer side effects such as diarrhoea, constipation, and burping, which tends to limit their usage. But above all, it takes a long time before you see a positive effect – usually only after three months.

The effect of an infusion is normally significantly faster; however, it disappears again after a while. The fact that administering iron intravenously has a quicker effect is especially important for athletes. However, they should refrain from a long-term infusion therapy if possible and focus more on investigating the reason for their ever-decreasing iron values. Somatic illnesses and mental disorders must be excluded in any case. A state of exhaustion caused by depression, for example, should by no means be treated with iron. 

With experience, affected runners and other endurance athletes can sense when their iron is low. An appropriate intake of iron will then often work wonders and give them a new lease of life.

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