Running on Food: Iron and Tacos
This article is part of a new series on Nutrition for Runners. Heather from the blog, Trials of Training, has offered her expertise in Nutrition to runners in the Lounge to pass along information on recipes, nutrition, and running/food related questions. She has her BS in Nutrition from Penn State, she is currently working to be a Registered Dietician, and is a loves to help runners with their questions. Iron and Tacos by Heather
If you’re like me, Cinco de Mayo meant unofficial “celebrating” with some sort of Mexican dish. Being from the Southwest I absolutely Love Mexican-American food. Living on the East coast doesn’t usually mean too many opportunities to get the authentic stuff at a restaurant, but that certainly doesn’t stop me from doing my best in the kitchen!
Last week I made tacos with lean ground beef; this is definitely one of the “easiest” dinners that I really enjoy! All you have to do is cook up the meat, throw in the seasoning, and chop up whatever you want to stuff your corn-tortilla shell with (lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, all of the above?). In my opinion, it’s also one of the easiest (and healthier) ways to fit a good source of Iron into your menu!
So, why do Runners need Iron???
It’s essential for the body’s formation of hemoglobin. Red blood cells use the hemoglobin molecule to transport oxygen to the lungs and other body tissues. When your Iron levels are low, you can’t carry as much oxygen to areas that need it (such as muscles!), leading to feelings of fatigue or exhaustion. But, it doesn’t stop there. Iron is also involved in energy metabolism, work performance, and fighting infections and diseases (immune function). During endurance activities (i.e. running) we clearly use a lot of oxygen and our metabolisms are working hard to keep energy balanced, meaning we use up Iron!
If you’ve ever gone out for a run that’s typically “easy” and felt sluggish and/or exhausted, or become frustrated that you can’t tackle a distance you’ve done before because you tire quickly, low Iron stores were probably an issue. The thing is that most runners, including myself, don’t think about this right away. We think about how many high-carb snacks/meals we’ve had, or how many hours of sleep we got, when our last ‘rest’ day was…….but we rarely stop and think “Did I get enough Iron this week?”
Where do we go when we need more (or just Enough) Iron??
One great source is lean red meat; this protein contains iron in a form that is more “available” to our body. Basically, we can detach the iron easier and absorb more of it (compared to a plant source). This is why I love “taco nights” (easy Iron!), and I also love buying lean cut steaks to make Beef Fajitas (with lots of veggies!).
Iron is also found in plenty of vegetables, cereals and other proteins. Try fortified breakfast cereals (I always check this on the label of my cereals since I don’t eat red meat every week!), soy/white/ kidney beans, spinach, chickpeas, tomato puree/paste, lentils, clams and shrimp. For a full list of food sources and the amount of Iron they provide, check out CDC’s website – Dietary Sources of Iron.
And, if none of the above options appeal to you, consider a daily supplement or multivitamin! Iron is best absorbed with some form of vitamin C; this can be in supplement form or something like a cup of orange juice.
Making sure your body gets all the nutrients it needs to Perform at its best is crucial to our training and endurance. If you want your legs to go for miles, give them the right fuel they need to do so!
*For more information on this, check out this article - http://www.running.net/read_
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