Though a well-prepared athlete can overcome many training challenges, there’s one threat to performance success that even the fittest athlete will not be able to push past: iron deficiency anemia – defined as low blood iron levels. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) II, an estimated 20%–50% percent of female athletes and 4%–50% of male athletes suffer from depleted iron stores. Left untreated, iron depletion can develop into iron deficiency anemia (IDA), which impairs the body’s aerobic processes, brain and muscle metabolism, endurance performance, and normal immune response.
