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Today every third person is suffering from anemia in India. Anemia has become a very common problem among youth. Earlier it was only women, who used to suffer from it, but today even a small kid can also have it. Basically, let us understand what is iron deficiency anemia and how is it caused?
Iron deficiency anemia occurs when your blood is short of red blood cells or hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is like the lifeline of the body. It supplies oxygen to the body tissues. Hemoglobin helps in maintaining the shape of red blood cells. If your body does not produce enough red blood cells or when your hemoglobin level is low, then your body does not get enough oxygen. This lack of oxygen will make your body tired, exhausted and irritable.
Red blood cells, also known as erythrocytes, are the most common blood cells in the body. When your blood count is too low because of lack of oxygen caused by less iron in your blood, that’s when you are anemic. There are lot of factors that determine that you are anemic like bone marrow failure, leukemia or some strong cancer medicines. But most common reasons for anemia, which occur in day to day life are poor diet, excessive bleeding during pregnancy or during menstrual cycles. Normally when you are anemic, you experience fatigue, loss of energy, dizziness and leg cramps. Almost 50% of pregnant women suffer from iron deficiency anemia.
When one consumes iron rich foods, the body absorbs the iron from the upper part of the small intestine. As webmd.com states, ‘There are two forms of dietary iron: heme and non-heme. Heme iron is derived from hemoglobin. It is found in animal foods that originally contained hemoglobin, such as red meats, fish, and poultry. Your body absorbs the most iron from heme sources. Non-heme iron is from plant sources.’
However, there are foods that help you fight anemia. Let us take a quick look at these nutritional foods. To combat anemia, you will need foods rich in iron.
Not all iron from the food you eat gets inside your system. That is because consumption of some foods can hinder your absorption of iron. As a rule, avoid eating calcium-rich foods with iron-rich foods, like ‘palak paneer’. Also, do not have caffeinated drinks with your meals. If you still have trouble with getting enough iron, seek your doctor’s advice who can prescribe some iron supplements for you.
Though it is believed that vegetarians do not get much iron from their diet but that’s not true. As a thumb rule, meat is considered the healthiest form of iron. But over centuries, it is proved that vegetarians and vegans have other means of gaining iron. Women (ages 19-50) need approximately 18 mg per day and pregnant Women need approximately 27 mg per day. There are other foods like coconut, olives, sprouts, soy beans, sesame seeds, almond and many other foods give iron in some way or other. Eat iron rich foods daily and stay healthy.
Click here to read about Iron Deficiency Anemia in Pregnancy.
Click here to read on Iron Deficiency Anemia in Toddlers.
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