Abstract
We examined changes in iron status in 25 female varsity collegiate swimmers over the course of a competitive season via weekly capillary blood sampling. We also studied the effectiveness of moderate iron supplementation (39 mg/day) in preventing expected changes in iron status via a double- blinded crossover design. On entry into the study, 17 of the swimmers had depleted iron stores (plasma ferritin <12 μg/L) and 5 were anemic (Hb <120 g/L). After 5 wk of placebo treatment, hemoglobin decreased (≥6 g/L) in 44% and increased in 12% of the subjects. After 5 wk of iron supplementation, hemoglobin decreased in 16% and increased in 24% of the subjects. Likewise, after placebo treatment, plasma ferritin decreased (≥5 μg/L) in 24% and increased in 4% of the subjects, whereas iron supplementation resulted in decreases in 4% and increases in 68% of the subjects. In the absence of iron supplementation, hemoglobin levels decreased despite mean dietary iron intakes of 16.3 mg/day. These results show that moderate iron supplementation is effective in preventing decline in the iron status of female collegiate swimmers during a competitive season, but a higher dose of iron may be necessary to reverse their iron-deficient state.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 418-422 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Nutrition |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 5 |
State | Published - 1993 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Nutrition and Dietetics
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism