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  • Treatments for an iron deficiency range from nutritional support, oral iron supplementation, and intravenous iron approaches, depending on the severity of the issue and the athlete patient history. Increasing dietary iron intake is the initial and most conservative treatment for iron deficiency. Some examples of haem (animal derived) and non-haem (plant derived) sources of dietary iron.1
  • Oral iron supplements are the following avenue of treatment and are typically provided as ferrous salts: ferrous fumarate, ferrous sulphate or ferrous gluconate.
  • Ferrous sulphate preparations (e.g. FerroGrad®) containing ~100 mg elemental iron are the established and standard treatment for depleted iron stores. The total amount of elemental iron contained in the supplement should be checked to ensure that the specific target dose is achieved.
  • Controlled-release iron formulations (e.g. Maltofer®) may be used if ferrous salts are not well tolerated by the athlete.
  • Intravenous iron should only be considered in consultation with a sports physician. The efficacy of this approach appears best when IDA is present – i.e. when both ferritin stores and haemoglobin are compromised.

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