Notes From a College Student: Anemia

I find myself quite surprised that even though I am no longer a crazy, 85-mile-a-week runner, I still have extra-low ferritin levels. Despite eating raisins, watermelon and as much red meat as a college student can afford, plus taking supplements and working with my acupuncturist to "build my blood," I'm still rocking the anemic blood count.

Now, I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV, but I am an iron deficiency expert. Really. At the start of each cross country and track season, every team member gets their blood drawn for a full iron blood test. It's been a bit of a shameful experience for me. After getting the email from my coach saying that our results are in, I sheepishly walk down to receive my thick envelope. (Thin envelopes mean high iron counts, while thick envelopes--because they contain so much information on how to boost your iron levels--mean low iron counts). My numbers are abysmally low. I've tried every trick in the book, but I still struggle with it.

Anemia is more common in women than in men since we generally don't store as much iron in our bodies and we have increased loss through menstruation. In its medicalese definition, anemia is "a condition where there is a lower than normal number of red blood cells in the blood, usually measured by a decrease in the amount of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying part of red blood cells. It gives these blood cells their red color." (Thank goodness for the online !)

Symptoms vary, especially in congruence with what type of anemia a person might have. Typical iron-deficient anemia symptoms include fatigue and weakness that can reduce a person's work capacity. (In running--or any athletics for that matter--this is especially evident. A young woman on our team once couldn't make it up a hill because her iron levels were such a drain on her system.) Other symptoms include rapid heartbeat, headaches and irritability, to name a few. Less common symptoms include  (an extremely unusual eating disorder) and even frequent breath holding (luckily we've never had a runner on the team who does that!). 

Here are a few do-it-yourself ways to help boost those pesky ferritin levels. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I've had!

1. Go to your doctor and ask to get your iron levels tested. It's important to get the exact numbers of your hemoglobin, hematocrit and ferritin levels; I've found that my doctor's office will report back that my levels are normal when, indeed, they are far from normal. Remember, an active woman really needs to make sure her iron levels are high.
2. Take your supplements. If your ferritin levels are low (under 40, according to my iron-guru of a coach), you'll want to take an iron supplement. Multivitamins don't cut it--most, especially those marketed toward women, also include calcium, which inhibits the absorption of iron. Try a ferrous-sulfate supplement accompanied with a vitamin C tablet (which aids the body's absorption of iron) once a day. A word to the wise: If you've never been on iron supplements before, make sure to get the slow-release pills. Iron supplements can be very hard on your digestive system, but slow-release tablets can help prevent any unwanted side effects. Oh, and don't take your iron with your morning coffee, since caffeine (and milk) can inhibit the absorption of iron.
3. Eat more meat. For six years I was a vegetarian, which, accompanied by the 50-mile weeks I was logging, probably added to my depleted iron stores. Red meat has the most iron per serving, with organ meats obviously trumping your average steak or burger. Oysters, surprisingly, are high in iron as well.
4. Get more iron in your diet. If you don't or can't eat meat, make sure to stock up on vegetarian/vegan-friendly high-iron items. My favorites are raisins, watermelon, quinoa, spinach and tofu. If all else fails, drink a spoonful of molasses each morning. That thick syrup has more iron than steak tartar.
5. Cook in an iron skillet. The American Dietary Association states that cooking spinach in an iron skillet will increase the amount of iron per serving.

Of course, step one is talking to your doctor, because you never want to start taking supplements or making any changes to your diet before you do. Learn more about  and build up your blood!