Micronutrients for Mid-Life Female Runners
May 26, 2022
Healthy Woman Healthy Runner Micronutrients for Mid-life Runners
As runners we tend to pay attention to MACRONUTRIENTS – Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat so we thought today we’d spotlight the role of micronutrients especially in our midlife phase.
We’ll be talking about
- The different categories of micronutrients and a taking a look at Vitamins
- The importance of minerals from your food plan
- The potential health concerns you may have in midlife which may be affected by mineral deficiency
- A spotlight on iron deficiency and what you can do about it
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SHOW NOTES
Micronutrients for Mid-Life Runners
(01:29)
An overview of Vitamins and Minerals.
(03:40)
Water-soluble Vitamins – what are they, how do we absorb them and main food sources.
(06:59)
Fat-soluble Vitamins – what are they, how do we absorb them and main food sources.
(09:17)
An overview of macro minerals and trace minerals and the importance of consuming enough but not too much.
(15:01)
Potential health concerns facing mid-life women which may be affected by micronutrient deficiencies.
(18:21)
A spotlight on iron deficiency and what you can do about it.
(23:25)
Nutritional Guidelines on Iron Requirements
(26:16)
Nutrition Tips of optimising dietary iron intake and promoting bioavailability.
Female Factors
Micronutrients for Mid-Life Runners – health concerns which may be associated with micronutrient deficiency
- IRON DEFICIENCY – during peri menopause periods become erratic and sometimes women experience excessively heavy blood loss which can lead to anaemia and symptoms of fatigue, low energy, shortness of breath.
- BONE HEALTH – this may not be top of mind when you are in the peri menopause or menopause transition, however this is a vital time to ensure you are supporting bone mineral density. Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin D and many trace minerals are key to maintaining bone mineral density.
- STRESS – midlife can often be a time of living with chronic stress with all the responsibilities we have for family E.g. responsibilities for children, elderly parents, our jobs and managing a home. When we are in a position of chronic stress we have a higher requirement for B Vitamins, Vitamin C and Magnesium. Which may mean the body prioritises these nutrients for managing stress and so there is less to power other systems like energy production.
- THYROID health – Hypothyroidism is a condition which affects up to 5% of the general population, with a further estimated 5% being undiagnosed. Worldwide, environmental iodine deficiency is the most common cause of all thyroid disorders, including hypothyroidism, researchers believe we are not getting enough iodine from our food. Iodine and Selenium are vital for thyroid hormone production.
ONE KEY TAKEAWAY to action from today’s episode
1 Key Action to do after today’s episode – test your iron status
Low iron status could potentially lead to the onset of iron deficiency anaemia, which is known to lead to reduced production of red blood cells so reduced transport of oxygen for consumption during exercise.
Women with very heavy or frequent menstrual blood loss should be vigilant regarding their iron status.
We suggest you get your iron status tested either by your GP of if you’d like a suggestion for an at home test kit drop us an email at hello@runnershealthhub.com and we’ll let you have our suggestion for an appropriate test.
