I looked like a vampire! My experience with Iron-Deficiency Anemia

When I was in high school I decided I would become a pesco-vegetarian. This means I was a vegetarian that ate fish, dairy, and eggs. I was an animal lover and decided I did not want to eat meat because it was cruel. After arriving at college my freshman year I decided I wanted to take it a step further and go vegan. I was influenced by a number of factors including my love for animals as well as the desire to be “healthy.”

My freshman year of college I also walked on to the cross country team (this means I was not a scholarship athlete and I had to try out to be on the team). It was a struggle because running in college was much more difficult than high school. Most people adjust to rigorous track workouts and high mileage. I noticed it was getting increasingly difficult for me to get through the workouts. I was tired all the time, but could never get a good night sleep. I was thin like most runners, but not very muscular. I was eating in the dorms and most of the meals served included meat and other animal products for protein. This means that I ate a lot of carbs including cereal, bread, pasta, and rice. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were my staple. I would often eat from the salad bar, but even that gets old after a while.

The breaking point came one day when I was running an easy 5 miler. I had to stop. I was so tired that I could not finish an easy 5 mile run! I was ashamed. I walked the remainder of the route, holding back tears. It was at this point that my coach advised me to schedule an appointment for a blood draw. So I did. When the results came back my coach called me into his office. He looked me in the eyes and told me point blank “I can’t believe you are still running.” My iron levels (including hemoglobin, hematocrit, and ferritin) where among the lowest levels he had ever seen. He told me to immediately talk to the trainer and get on an iron supplement and not to return to practice the remainder of the week. I believe the only reason he did not kick me off the team was because there was a glimmer of hope. I am sure he thought that if I was able to keep running with such low iron levels, imagine how good I could be if my iron levels were normal?

The simplified reason that iron is so important is that it is a carrier molecule for oxygen on red blood cells. Basically, it delivers oxygen to every organ in the body including muscles. If iron is low then the muscles can’t get adequate oxygen and energy can’t be burned for fuel in a process called aerobic metabolism. When I decided to go vegetarian and vegan I was not eating enough iron in my diet and eventually my iron levels become depleted. This is because iron is found most abundantly in animal products such as red meat. The iron found in meat is also better absorbed compared with iron found in plants.

I did not change my diet immediately. I started taking something called ‘ferrous sulfate elixir’ that came in what looked like a chemical bottle from my general chemistry lab. I was advised to take a teaspoon a day. So I tried it. I poured out teaspoon of liquid iron and put it in my mouth. It was disgusting. It tasted like I was licking a metal pole. I started taking it in a shot glass mixed with orange juice and holding my nose while I swallowed it down. That is how bad it tasted. I did start to feel better, but I was worried that I would have to be taking this iron sulfate stuff forever.  I made a personal decision to change my diet. I wanted to be a good athlete and stay on the team and compete. I went out to Whole Foods and bought a grass-fed beef steak. I did not even know how to cook it. When I finally cooked it, with the help of my roommate, I could only eat a couple of bites. It had been so long since I had eaten meat that it seemed foreign and I felt a tinge of guilt.

It took me a couple of days to eat that steak, but I did. I started gradually adding fish, dairy and eggs back into my diet. I slowly added other sources of protein including poultry and red meat. As I added these foods I was able to stop taking the iron supplement. I started to feel great! I was running better than ever and even competed at Big 12’s and pre-nationals to earn my varsity letter in cross country. I look back at my freshman year of college at pictures of me. I looked like a vampire with pale skin and blue lips. I think about how tired I was and how I never want to feel that way again.

The intention of this story is not to say that a vegan or vegetarian diet is bad. My intention was to bring awareness to the fact that vegan and vegetarian athletes need to pay close attention to their diet and it may involve additional planning to make sure vital nutrients are being ingested and absorbed. For many vegan athletes this may mean you have to take supplements. There are several nutrients that are often low in both vegan and vegetarian diets because they are found most abundantly in animal products. These include protein, vitamin D, calcium, iodine, zinc, iron, vitamin B 12, and omega 3 fatty acids. I am sure in my case I was deficient in several nutrients in addition to iron including protein and vitamin B 12. As soon as I began eating more protein, I also became more muscular.

I feel that this may have been one the greatest lessons of my athletic career and has been a pivotal moment in my life. After this experience there was a spark of passion that was ignited for nutrition. I began to realize that what I ate had a huge impact on my health and I wanted to know more. I eventually went back to graduate school with a degree in human nutrition, became a registered dietitian (after a lot of hard work), and here I am today.

I may never choose to be vegan again, but I do try to incorporate more plant based meals into my diet and eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes. If you have any questions about a vegan or vegetarian diet please feel free to contact me at nutritioncoachkatie@gmail.com or check out my website at http://www.mynutritioncoach.org.

If you are worried about having a deficiency in any of the above nutrients, get tested! If you are planning on starting a vegan/vegetarian diet or you have been vegan/vegetarian for several years I suggest talking to a professional. A registered dietitian can take a good look at your diet. An RD can help you plan a diet that includes the plant-based foods highest in these key nutrients. If you choose to take supplements an RD can help you choose the right supplements and correct amount to maximize health benefits without the risk of taking too much.