In this episode of the Making Strides Podcast, AJ and Adam sit down with registered dietician, Katie Kissane to talk about iron for endurance athletes. Check it out!

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5:00 Katie’s story and journey into dietetics

12:00 Supplementing without prior testing

14:30 AJ’s story of being anemic

15:30 Sex difference with anemia and definitions

19:45 AJ’s crazy supplement protocol

26:00 Inhibitors of absorption

30:15 What Iron does

37:00 Labs for athletes vs general population

41:15 Time frame for improvement and frequency of testing

46:00 Different forms and sources of iron

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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33057935/

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AJ's Iron Supplementation Regimen that was mentioned:

1. Ferrous Sulfate Elixir, immediately after morning runs as much as possible for optimal hepcidin timing, 1/2tsp (22mg iron)
2. Two [pure encapsulation] capsules (15mg iron EACH) right before bed
3. LP299V probiotic supplement (Jarrow, 10B CFU) also right before bed

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Quotes:

 

“To just arbitrarily, without lab testing, supplement iron is a concern. It is toxic when consumed in too large of quantities.”

-Katie

 

“Everyone is very individual. Not everyone responds the same with iron supplementation. Sometimes it take connecting with a professional and investigate to solve things.”

-AJ

 

“Optimally, I like to see ferritin at 50-150 in athletes.”

-Katie

 

“Try not to take your supplement within a 1-2hrs of coffee/tea”

-Katie

 

“It looks good [iron] when compared to the general population, but the endurance athlete may have different values that we want to strive for which is an important distinction.”

-Adam

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Adam's website at RunMental

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AJ's website at Up and Running Physical Therapy 

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