Iron ·
Biohacking with Iron: The Benefits of Athlete’s Iron
Anyone who is leaning on the plant based side of life and cannot answer where you get your iron from, may need to review your diet and take a deeper look at your minerals and in particular Iron.
All in all, minerals are VITAL to life and we cannot exist without them.
We all know the story behind calcium and building strong bones, however did you know that too much calcium can interfere with the absorption of Iron? Especially with calcium and iron that are inorganic and not easily absorbed by the body. The positive take away is, the calcium message is on the publics radar, and in particular for children growing up.
However, what many individuals do not know is we need to replenish minerals on a daily basis for our body’s metabolism to operate at 100%.
For Endurance athletes it even more critical to replenish our minerals levels!
Here is the skinny on Iron:
It is essential for making blood.
PERIOD
When we have low iron levels, we are not able to feed our organs and muscles adequate nutrients, nor are we able to oxygenate our organs and muscles.
Why are these factors important?
The blood vessels are the body’s highway to distribute the nutrients that have been ingested, digested and absorbed through the intestines. All the vitamins and minerals that have been absorbed, need some sort of transportation pathway to get to the organs to keep their engines running.
When we are low on iron, the body is unable to replenish the blood to deliver the nutrients throughout the body and performance suffers.
The blood passes through the lungs after it gets pumped back through the heart to ‘oxygenate’ the blood and deliver fresh oxygen to the muscles where it is utilized for a variety of cellular functions.
Endurance athletes; from all disciplines, triathlons, marathons, cycling, swimming, etc. need to pay attention to the physiological symptoms that indicate low iron levels. First and foremost is fatigue, and cold hands.
Women tend to feel the effects of low iron monthly due to their menstrual cycle which can be offset by using Athlete’s Iron during the 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the cycle. Depending on the female diet; in particular vegans and vegetarians, iron supplementation is almost necessary. Unless of course the diet is closely monitored to include iron rich foods and the intake meets the body’s demands.
MOXiLIFE has done the deep dive on ingredients and in particular, minerals and has taken a look at how they function in the body, which are most deficient in athletes and which minerals we can benefit from the most.
To be honest, they are all just as equal in necessity however, we can take a look at which ones are utilized and depleted faster, more frequently and in higher levels.
Society’s main source of iron comes from animals and selected plants; cooked beans, lentils dried fruits, egg, fish. Vegetables like, spinach, broccoli and kale are also good iron sources.
The RDI (Recommended Daily Intake) is 15mg and, you’ll have to spend a lot of time consuming a variety of foods and taking in a lot of calories to meet the body’s nutritional demands from food sources.
Clinical studies have determined that endurance athletes do require additional supplementation due to the sweat loss and higher Hematocrit requirements. The primary indicator in the body is ferritin, which tells you what amount of iron levels are stored.
This indicator can show a false positive, meaning the levels show they are normal however; in all actuality they may not be, due to underlying issues and how the body regulates iron.
Under stress the body will show higher ferritin levels during periods of inflammation and active infection.
Most iron supplements on the market combine Vitamin C or Bioperene® to aid the absorption of inorganic iron forms.
Athlete’s Iron does not require Vitamin C or Bioperene® to help aid absorption of Athlete’s Iron, due to the patented technology behind the unique delivery form of iron. Nor does Athlete’s Iron require to be taken with food as it is very “gut gentle”.
The iron used in the Athlete’s Iron formula is a chelated form called Ferrochel™; made by Albion Minerals. Ferrochel™ is up to 6x higher in absorption vs other iron forms to include; carbonyl iron, iron sulfate, & iron fumarate.
MOXiLIFE Nutrition uses the same ‘form’ of minerals in all of our products, since the clinical studies on chelated minerals show the effectiveness and quick replenishment for mineral deficiencies, using this type of mineral.
If you are a female athlete and feel fatigued during your monthly cycle, there is a high probability that Athlete’s Iron will help. Although the amount of blood loss is minimal during the menstrual cycle, the metabolic demands on all cellular functions to make the during the hormonal cycle are fatiguing and demanding.
