Tea Consumption and Iron Deficiency Risk in Physically Active Individuals: Mechanisms, Clinical Relevance and Dietary Strategies

Abstract

Iron is essential for physical performance and overall functioning. In physically active individuals, iron balance may be compromised by exercise-induced iron losses, post-exercise increases in hepcidin, and dietary factors that reduce iron bioavailability, including tea polyphenols.

The aim of this review was to analyze the relationship between tea consumption and the risk of iron deficiency in physically active individuals, with particular emphasis on the interaction between exercise, diet, and iron metabolism, as well as on practical nutritional implications for prevention and management.

This paper was prepared as a narrative literature review. PubMed was used as the primary source of literature. Studies relevant to iron metabolism, iron deficiency, tea consumption, polyphenols, and physically active populations were included and synthesized qualitatively. 

The reviewed literature suggests that iron deficiency in physically active individuals is a multifactorial problem. In addition to exercise-induced iron losses, intense exercise may increase hepcidin concentrations, with peak values typically observed several hours after training, which may transiently reduce iron absorption. Tea polyphenols markedly inhibit non-heme iron absorption and may further impair iron balance, particularly in individuals relying predominantly on plant-based iron sources. The greatest risk appears to concern premenopausal women, endurance athletes, individuals following plant-based diets, and athletes with low energy availability.

Tea consumption may represent a clinically relevant dietary factor contributing to difficulty in maintaining adequate iron stores in physically active individuals. Practical management should include individualized dietary counseling, attention to the timing of tea intake in relation to meals and iron supplementation, consideration of post-exercise changes in iron absorption, and targeted supplementation when clinically justified.