Episode 27: The Iron Equation: Labs, Supplements, and Stories with Katie Kissane

In this episode of the Making Strides Podcast, AJ and Adam sit down with registered dietician, Katie Kissane to talk about iron for endurance athletes. Check it out! —— 5:00 Katie's story and journey into dietetics 12:00 Supplementing without prior testing 14:30 AJ's story of being anemic 15:30 Sex difference with anemia and definitions 19:45 AJ's crazy supplement protocol 26:00 Inhibitors of absorption 30:15 What Iron does 37:00 Labs for athletes vs general population 41:15 Time frame for improvement and frequency of testing 46:00 Different forms and sources of iron —— https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33057935/ —— AJ's Iron Supplementation Regimen that was mentioned: Ferrous Sulfate Elixir, immediately after morning runs as much as possible for optimal hepcidin timing, 1/2tsp (22mg iron) Two [pure encapsulation] capsules (15mg iron EACH) right before bed LP299V probiotic supplement (Jarrow, 10B CFU) also right before bed —— Quotes:   "To just arbitrarily, without lab testing, supplement iron is a concern. It is toxic when consumed in too large of quantities." -Katie   "Everyone is very individual. Not everyone responds the same with iron supplementation. Sometimes it take connecting with a professional and investigate to solve things." -AJ   "Optimally, I like to see ferritin at 50-150 in athletes." -Katie   "Try not to take your supplement within a 1-2hrs of coffee/tea" -Katie   "It looks good [iron] when compared to the general population, but the endurance athlete may have different values that we want to strive for which is an important distinction." -Adam —— Adam's website at RunMental Adam's Instagram RunMental facebook page AJ's website at Up and Running Physical Therapy  AJ's Instagram Up and Running PT facebook page