also, talk to their doctor? Like, an Internet forum can be useful, but for an actual medical issue like anemia, a medical professional should be far preferred!
My daughter recently found she has a ferritin of 3.2 and a hemoglobin of 11.3. How bad is this and how does one fix it?
Take her to the family doctor/her doctor. There are more metrics they'll review like RBC and other stuff to determine the cause.
11.3 is only mildly anemic (12 is normal hb for females 12-16).
It's impt. to know if the causse is blood loss (menstration is one of the most common reasons) or something else.
Once they know exactly why the hb is slightly low it can be addressed. If it's dietary she could see a dietician as well.
I would do those things before randomly supplementing - which should also be done in a well-designed way (for instance, more is not better - it messes with absorption).
And red meat is not the only source of heme iron. Chicken liver is even better for example. It won't hurt to make sure her dietary intake is optimized.
EXTREMELY low, at least the ferritin. I don't know the range for hemoglobin.
Supplement! Supplement! Ferrous sulfate is what has worked for me. 325 mg 3x a day.
Floradix - the liquid stuff - is nasty and didn't help me.
It's great it worked for this person, but that dosing is a terrible idea and especially to apply to your daughter. There is ample research showing ever other day (once a day) dosing is superior due to the way the body absorbs iron. Ferrous sulfate is also known to commonly cause digestive issues, including constipation. Again, it's excellent this person found it effective but it doesn't mean it's right for your daughter (or anyone else), without being instructed to take it and supervised by a doctor.
Oh - and iron is toxic if you don't need it - you can overload on iron - it's an oxidant, and also fuels bacteria. So if your daughter didn't need supplemental iron , or didn't need such a large dose, it could actually be harmful.
That's why a doctor consultation is in order. They'll guide the process.
See your physician. Why is it so low? Poor diet usually the factor in teens, but are her menses too heavy and that needs to be treated? Typical in older adults blood loss can occur in the GI tract (colon cancer). See her physician. Ferritin (iron stores)normals are typically a wide range from 35 on up but I have found in runners it needs to be 70 or higher because below it affects their running. (iron is a requirement for proper hemoglobin-oxygen carrying capacity.) some physicians do not realize how low normal ferritin can be symptomatic in distance runners. Get work up from her physician (MD).
My iron was always on the lower end, but barely in healthy range, while I was eating a normal american diet. I tried vegan and my iron levels were the highest they had ever been. I'm not here to promote a vegan diet, and I'm not on a vegan diet anymore, but I would recommend eating a lot spinach, beans, and legumes.
EXTREMELY low, at least the ferritin. I don't know the range for hemoglobin.
Supplement! Supplement! Ferrous sulfate is what has worked for me. 325 mg 3x a day.
Floradix - the liquid stuff - is nasty and didn't help me.
It's great it worked for this person, but that dosing is a terrible idea and especially to apply to your daughter. There is ample research showing ever other day (once a day) dosing is superior due to the way the body absorbs iron. Ferrous sulfate is also known to commonly cause digestive issues, including constipation. Again, it's excellent this person found it effective but it doesn't mean it's right for your daughter (or anyone else), without being instructed to take it and supervised by a doctor.
Oh - and iron is toxic if you don't need it - you can overload on iron - it's an oxidant, and also fuels bacteria. So if your daughter didn't need supplemental iron , or didn't need such a large dose, it could actually be harmful.
That's why a doctor consultation is in order. They'll guide the process.
In the long term pumpingiron's advice is going to backfire. Taking large doses of iron is going to cause the body's hepcidin levels to rise, which will ultimately block the flow of iron throughout your body. However, the ample research John Glen Frey is referring to usually measures "how to most efficiently take a bottle of iron" when most runners are concerned with "how can I get back to feeling good as quickly as possible". I have dealt with this issue for 15 years. My personal recommendation would be to follow pumpingiron's advice for about 3 weeks if your stomach can handle it, then switch to an every other day like John Glen has described. Take any iron supplements with Vitamin C and don't take anything with calcium before or after.
Also make sure your Vitamin D is not low. Vitamin D will regulate hepcidin levels--which if hepcidin is too high, as said earlier, will not allow you to absorb iron. Vitamin D supplements should be taken with fat to improve absorption. I make something with Heavy Cream when I take mine.
Talking to a doctor is a good starting point, but honestly so many have no idea about proper iron levels for athletes, why it's important, or what a good dosing schedule even is.
How much mileage is she running? Does she eat red meat? Regular periods? All good high school and D1 programs test ferritin and hemoglobin. Those levels are extremely low and qualify as anemic, especially the ferritin. She should start supplementation but talk to your doctor about form and dosage. My daughter and I both take liquid iron and she went from ferritin of 9 to 86. There are many articles about how runners need higher than average ferritin, and most elite runners shoot for levels above 50
My daughter recently found she has a ferritin of 3.2 and a hemoglobin of 11.3. How bad is this and how does one fix it?
My daughter had ferritin of 13 while eating a good diet of meat. We went to two doctors to get multiple opinions. College runners target 40-60+. We simply started Iron supplements and ferritin went up to 45. It made a difference, she stopped getting weak "leg burn" in just regular pace runs.
My daughter recently found she has a ferritin of 3.2 and a hemoglobin of 11.3. How bad is this and how does one fix it?
The ferritin is very low and is definitely affecting her running. My ferritin was 5 at the beginning of last track season, and I was running 12 minute 3200s. I started taking iron supplements (I'd recommend Hemaplex slow release tablets!), and three months later I ran 10:50 for 3200 while my ferritin was still only at 28.
Take the iron supplements at night or sometime during the day two hours away from any other food or drink; taking iron on an empty stomach or with vitamin C will maximize absorption. Also, avoid turmeric in foods or in supplements. It's known to lower ferritin levels. Hope this helps!
Females are always going to have lower iron levels. Many of the runners on my collegiate xc team suffer. IMO I think diet is always the first cause. Lots of picky eaters nowadays. Foods like red meat, cereal, beans, and spinach are great and can really solve stuff a lot of it. Put spinach in smoothies and beans in soups and it seems to go down easier if they don't it. Supplements work too but I would change diet first. Iron supplements are known to cause digestive issues and doesn't absorb as much as food.
As several others have stated, most iron supplements often have negative side effects (especially with regard to digestive problems & constipation) — plus they often don't work very well. It's much wiser to increase iron intake with natural iron-rich foods, such as beets, spinach & red meat. Unlike iron supplements, natural organic iron that is found naturally in foods are very easy for the body to absorb & assimilate, and they have no negative side effects. Out of all the foods that are rich in iron, beets are definitely my favorite. I recommend to all of the runners that I coach (especially my female runners) — as a preventive measure — to try to drink a small amount of freshly made beet juice everyday. And if they don't like the taste they can always mix it with other juices (such as carrot juice & orange juice). Making your own fresh juice with a juicer is the best way to go, but if you don't want to juice your own, most Whole Foods Markets sell a very good organic product that contains beet juice, carrot juice, & orange juice. This is a great combination, because not only do you get plenty of iron, but you also get lots of vitamin A & vitamin C. Plus, it tastes great! Throw in plenty of vitamin D (preferably from the sun) and calcium (from a natural organic source) and you are set to go.
These are similar levels to what I had as a 15 year old male sophomore year of high school. My doctor put me on 2 iron pills a day for month and in 2 seasons I brought my 1600m PR from 5:32 to 4:51. Moral of the story is many runners suffer from anemia and may not even realize it, I strongly recommend implementing iron pills in daily vitamins. The Gentle Iron ones are great and will not cause constipation.