- Fatigue
- Brain fog
- Loss of concentration
- Weakness
- Pale skin
- Dizziness
- Irregular heart beat
- Difficulty in breathing
- Chest pain
- Tiredness, etc.
Hemoglobin has two parts, haem, which is iron and globin, which is
protein. The most common type of anemia is iron deficiency anemia. There are
also more types of anemia which include:
- Blood loss anemia.
- Aplastic anemia.
- Pernicious anemia.
- Hemolytic anemia.
- Blood loss anemia, as the name says, is due to blood loss after the injury or surgery, our body recovers itself in two to three days but if blood loss id chronic, it makes the condition worse, and body cannot absorb enough iron from intestine to form hemoglobin as rabidly as it lost.
- Aplastic anemia is due to the dysfunction of bone marrow. Bone marrow is the place where red blood cells are formed. This type of anemia happens due to the exposure of radiation or chemotherapy for cancer treatment. People with severe aplastic anemia usually die. Severe aplastic anemia required blood transfusion or bone marrow transplantation according to the advice of doctor.
- Pernicious anemia is due to deficiency of vitamin B12, folic acid. They both are responsible for reproduction of RBC’s. When there is deficiency of vitamin B12, there will be slow reproduction of red blood cells that grows too large, this makes them fragile, and they can rapture easily.
- Hemolytic anemia is hereditary, RBC’s are fragile,
their life span is short and destroys faster than they can form that results in
serious anemia.
Anemia treatment usually involves dietary changes. The best diet plan
include the food that is rich iron and vitaminB12 and also that help your body
absorb iron better. People who are
vegetarian or restrict to vegan diet may become victims of iron deficiency or pernicious
anemia, the most of iron or vitamin B12 in diet is comes from animal product
such as meat, etc.
There are two types of iron:
- Heme iron
- Non-heme iron
Heme iron is found in meat, seafood, and poultry. Our body can absorb
both heme and non heme iron, but it can absorb heme iron more easily. Eating
heme with non heme can increase the absorption of iron. The sources of heme
iron include:
- Tuna
- Sardines
- Salmons
- Shrimp
- Oyster
- Beef/Chicken liver
- Eggs
- Turkey etc.
Non- heme iron is found in food that is obtain from plant sources. Our
body is less efficient at absorbing non heme iron, and most dietary iron is non
heme. They include:
- Peas
- Peanut
- Walnut
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Kale
- Beans
- Dried fruits including apricots,raisins, etc.
Fortified food are those in which extra nutrients are added included iron
to decrease the nutrient deficiencies. Fortified food for anemia include:
- Fortified white rice
- Fortified cereals
- Fortified pasta
- Fortified orange juice, etc.
There are some food that act as anti-nutrient, they don’t let the iron to
absorb in body or make absorption difficult. These foods are:
- Tea
- Milk
- Coffee
-
Calcium, etc.
Calcium binds with iron and reduce its absorption. Oxalates also prevent
the absorption of non-heme iron. So these food are avoided to combine with one
that is rich in iron.
For pernicious anemia vitaminB12 intake is important as it helps in the
production of red blood cells so it must be taken in diet. The food that are
rich in vitamin B12 are:
- Grape fruit
- Oranges
- Melon
- Tomatoes
- Tangerines
- Strawberries
- Pepper
- Kiwi, etc.
Iron deficiency is most common nutritional deficiency and found more in
women than in men. Kidney diseases also called anemia, because kidney produce
erythropoietin, which is responsible for the production of RBC’s. Eating junk
food takes the place of essential nutrients, so it’s important to properly take
daily required nutrients rather than just filling stomach with garbage.
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