Strenuous Exercise Linked to Anemia
If you consider yourself an exercise fanatic and always push yourself to the limit, be careful. Strenuous exercise could lower your blood count, causing anemia and iron deficiency.
New research has found a link between adults who follow an intense exercise routine and low blood count. The study, led by Dr Drorit Merkel from the Chaim Sheba Medical Centre in Tel-Hashomer, followed 153 new Israeli Defense Force recruits for a few months. Blood samples were taken before the soldiers began their combat training and then new samples were taken after 6 months.
The study, which was published in the September issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, showed that before training, less than 18% of recruits were anemic and almost 15% were iron-deficient. But after just 6 months, these numbers had increased to 50% who became anemic and 28% suffered from an iron deficiency.
In one half the cases the findings were attributable to iron deficiency. The other half was attributable to hemodilution where the findings can be explained by a higher intake of fluids, particularly water. When you’re training or engaging in any kind of strenuous physical activity, you will naturally drink more water, which in turn temporarily dilutes your blood.
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