Dietary iron intervention using a staple food product for improvement of iron status in female runners

Adequate nutrient intake is critically important for achieving optimal sports performance. Like all athletes, female runners require a nutritionally balanced diet to maintain daily activities and a successful training regime. This study investigates the effects of cereal product based dietary iron intervention on iron status of recreational female runners (n = 11; 32 ± 7yr; 239 ± 153 minutes exercise/week, of which 161 ± 150 minutes running activity/week; VO2max 38 ± 4 ml/kg/min).

Participants completed a 6-week dietary intervention study. They were asked to replace their usual bread with iron-rich Teff bread as part of their daily diet. During this period, their dietary habits were assessed by multiple pass 24-hr recalls; iron status was determined by venous blood analysis for serum transferrin, serum transferrin receptor, serum ferritin, total iron-binding capacity and transferrin receptor/ferritin log index.

Pre-intervention a cohort of 11 female runners reported inadequate daily dietary iron intake of 10.7 ± 2.7 mg/day, which was associated with overall compromised iron status. Over a third of all participants showed depleted bodily iron stores (serum ferritin <12 μg/L). Pre-intervention macronutrient assessment revealed adequate energy, protein and fibre intakes, whilst total fat and saturated fat intake was above the recommendations at the expense of carbohydrate intake. A 6-week dietary intervention resulted in significantly higher total iron intakes (18.5 mg/day, P < 0.05) and improved iron tissue supply but not enlarged iron stores. Improvements in heamatological indices were associated with compromised baseline iron status, prolonged intervention period and increase in dietary iron intake.

Dietary iron interventions using a staple cereal product offer an alternative way of improving dietary iron intake and favourable affecting overall iron status in physically active females.