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Anemia and Diet, Is There A Connection?

by Stella Morgan

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There are many types of anemia, but the most common cause for anemia is iron deficiency. In turn iron deficiency can be caused due to chronic blood loss during menstruation or blood loss due to excessive bleeding in the gut due to gastritis, ulcers, hemorrhoids or worm infection in children. Iron requirements are usually increased during pregnancy, lactation, children with rapid growth spurts and adolescents.

Iron deficiency anemia can even occur when these requirements are not met.

Common symptoms of chronic iron deficiency anemia include weakness, tiredness, and shortness of breath or fast heartbeat. To treat any anemia including iron deficiency anemia it is important to know the underlining cause and possible try and treat the cause to treat anemia.

Diet rich in food with iron and iron supplementations can also make a large difference in the treatment.

Points to remember for an iron enriched diet and iron supplementation

Iron from the food source is best absorbed in the body from meat especially organ meats like liver and kidney as these are the main organs where iron is metabolized. Other good sources include fish, egg yolk, cheese and commercially available fortified breakfast cereals which are enriched with easily absorbable iron.
To facilitate iron absorption, vitamin C plays an important role. Along with your iron fortified breakfast cereal or egg or stir-fried liver try to incorporate a glass of orange juice. This will really help in iron absorption.
Folic acid found in green leafy vegetables is also essential along with iron to prevent anemia. Try and include at least one serving of green leaf vegetable in a day, if necessary folic acid supplementation could also be taken.
Iron supplementations in the form of iron sulfate tablets are also of great help. The dosage should be adjusted depending on the severity of the deficiency with consent of a specialist. As iron absorption is better on an empty stomach, it is often recommended to take iron tablets in between meals. However if you get any side effects from these tablets like fullness, bloating or even stomach pain, then it would be wiser to take it along with the meals as it would help decrease these side effects.

Points to avoid

Without consulting a dietician or a specialist don not switch over to a vegetarian diet.
Iron enriched cocktails generally contain very less iron and are heavy on the pockets, these can be avoided.
Drugs such as cimetidine should not be taken simultaneously with iron supplementation as they may inhibit iron absorption.
Remember you did not get iron deficiency over night; it was over a period of time. So don’t expect to fix it over night too. Continue the supplementations and iron rich diet as it would at least take 4-6 months to replenish the stores and correct anemia.

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