Nutrient Deficiencies in Endurance Athletes

12Nov09

Yesterday I alluded to my nutrient deficiencies and the impact that they had on my training and race performance. I want to share with you a little more about this.  If you have read previous posts of mine or know me, you know I used to prescribe to a strict vegan diet. I no longer follow it nor do I recommend it to endurance athletes. It may be possible to follow if you are closely monitored by a sports nutritionist or R.D. that has some familiariztion with the subject, but otherwise steer clear.  I now believe some animal product and/or supplementation is necessary.  Note that I still don’t do dairy for reasons I will talk about at a later time.

SO, over the 2009 race season things went from bad to worse for me. I felt like I was losing my endurance, I was fatigued, slow to recover, holding on to excess body fat, and totally depressed. In fact, I was known to occasionally spontaneously burst into tears 30-40 miles into a group ride.  Plus, my nagging L5-S1 spinal injury was just not healing no matter what I did or how much time I was taking off. So, Dr. McConnell ordered some blood work to see what might be going on. When we got the results, I had to say I was shocked. I wasn’t eating meat but was eating TONS of fruits and veggies and supplementing with a product that I now think is crap, so the fact that my antioxidant levels were low were the most shocking to me. I don’t think people realize just how hard the training really is on the endurance athlete’s body. I could go on and on about this… Maybe later.   Let’s go on to my results.

My deficiencies:

Ferritin. In a healthy female your ferritin levels should be between 60 -70 and mine was 16. Ferritin is a protein in the body that stores iron and releases it as needed. Iron is necessary for oxygen delivery to the cells. With anemia that severe it’s a wonder I could even turn the cranks at all.

Vitamin B12.  Vitamin B12 is only found in animal products and is necessary for blood and immune cell formation.  Symptoms of B12 deficiency: anemia (again), shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, irritability, decrease in all blood cell counts (red for oxygen delivery, white for imunity). Long term implications are more severe and include neurological damage and degeneration of nerves. Ouch.

Panthothenic Acid (Vit B5). It plays a vital role in energy production (i.e., metabolism). Symptoms of deficiency include fatigue, depression, irritability, and increased heart rate.

Serine. Serine is an amino acid used to manufacture proteins, generate energy, and cell membrane structure. Symptoms of deficiency include metabolic defects and the inability to burn fat and gain muscle.

Glutamine. Glutamine is an amino acid used for energy, protein synthesis, and removal of toxic substances from the body. Because glutamine is synthesized in both skeletal muscle and in adipose tissue in addition to the lungs, liver and brain, it is not considered an essential amino acid. However, there is evidence that our body cannot produce enough glutamine during times of stress, like intense exercise, to keep up with demand, thereby making it more essential than some may think. Clinical research has verified that overtrained endurance athletes suffer from chronic low plasma glutamine levels, which have been shown to contribute to muscle breakdown, diminished immune function, and reduced performance.

Antioxidant panel. In an analysis of a wide range of antioxidants, I was found to be borderline deficient. This was the most surprising to me given that antioxidant rich foods are fruits and vegetables and I was eating more than my fair share of those. Antioxidants are thought to help reduce the damage to and potential death of cellular proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and DNA by free radicals, which are created as a by-product of oxidative stress including exercise. Studies have shown that endurance athletes produce more free radicals than sedentary individuals and are therefore more vulnerable to cellular damage and consequent decline in aerobic capacity.

Those were my results. As soon as I changed  my diet I started noticing almost immediate results.  At the Lowe’s Motor Speedway TT in August I averaged 23.9 mph for 10 miles for a time of 25:06:14. 1 month later in September I did the same TT and averaged 25.5 mph for a time of 23:40:06. If you want more information about the micronutrient blood test, email me at info@annefinch.com.

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