Nutrition for Iron Deficiency

15 July

Keeping your iron levels up is vital for strength training. Iron deficiency can impact your energy levels, brain function and immunity which can all have negative effects on your overall health and of course performance.

This week I’m going to walk through exactly how to get on top of your iron levels through nutrition including much iron you need per day and practical examples of what this might look like.

Iron deficiency is most common in active people like yourselves, as well as those who menstruate, are pregnant, vegetarian or vegan.

How much iron do I need to eat per day?

This depends on your gender, stage of life and what foods you eat. The recommended daily intakes are:

- Men – 8mg

- Women (menstruating) – 18mg

- Pregnant Women – 27mg

- Male Vegetarians/ Vegans – 14mg

- Female Vegetarians/Vegans – 32mg

Vegetarians/ vegans need 1.8x more iron than those who eat meat as plant-based sources of iron don’t absorb as efficiently. Having a source of Vitamin C with your meals can help the iron in your foods absorb better. Also avoiding having tea/coffee within 1 hour of meals to reduce the risk of inhibiting the absorption of iron from your food.

How much iron is in foods? Let’s have a look at some examples.

Animal-based sources:

100g oysters = 4mg

100g red meat = 2.5mg

100g eggs = 1.9mg

100g chicken liver = 9.8mg

100g mussels = 3mg

Plant-based sources:

100g tofu = 5.2mg

100g lentils = 6.7mg

100g quinoa = 3.6mg

100g rolled oats = 3.5mg

50g spinach = 1.6mg

20g pumpkin seeds = 2mg

As we can see it can be difficult to get enough iron through dietary sources alone. A ‘food first’ approach is always ideal, however in some cases it is not possible. If this sounds like you, speak to your doctor and they may recommend supplementation and/or iron infusions.