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Iron helps your blood carry oxygen and supports energy production, brain function and physical performance. Low intake or higher losses may increase the risk of low iron stores, but a food diary, fatigue or a difficult training block cannot diagnose iron deficiency.
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The 60-second answer
- Iron matters, particularly for red blood cells, oxygen transport and energy metabolism.
- Low iron stores can exist before anaemia develops. A normal haemoglobin result does not always tell the whole story.
- Symptoms are not a diagnosis. Fatigue, breathlessness or reduced performance can have many causes.
- Food intake helps us assess risk, not iron status. Blood testing and clinical context are needed when deficiency is suspected.
- More is not automatically better. Iron supplements can cause side effects, interact with medicines and be harmful when they are not needed.
- The Pillars approach is food first and investigate first: understand the pattern, identify relevant risks, seek appropriate testing when indicated and support treatment only when the evidence supports it.
What iron does
Iron is an essential part of haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body. It also contributes to:
- myoglobin, which helps muscles use oxygen;
- cellular energy production;
- normal red-blood-cell formation;
- neurological and cognitive function;
- the ability to train, recover and adapt when iron status is adequate.
Iron deficiency develops in stages. Iron stores can begin to fall before haemoglobin drops far enough to meet an anaemia threshold. This is why iron deficiency without anaemia and iron-deficiency anaemia are related but different.
How much do I need?
Current UK adult reference intakes are:
- Men aged 19 and over: 8.7 mg per day
- Women aged 19–49: 14.8 mg per day