Anemia is a blood condition that occurs when your body is short on red blood cells, or doesn’t have sufficient haemoglobin. Red blood cells are responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body, and when they can’t do this, you see symptoms like fatigue. This happens because your organs are not getting the oxygen they need to sustain themselves well. It is the commonest blood problem in the United States, and more than 3.5 million Americans are anaemic.
There are many different causes of anaemia, some caused by injury or malnutrition or even hereditary conditions. The most common forms, though, are iron deficiency, folic acid deficiency, and vitamin B12 deficiency.
Consult your doctor to diagnose and get treated for the problem.
A diet for anemia is one which is rich in iron, and may even contain iron supplements. While a lot of foods have iron, it is absorbed at different rates. Animal sources usually have heme iron, which is absorbed quite easily from the body. On the other hand, vegetable sources usually have non-heme iron, which is not absorbed quite as easily.
Seafood is an excellent source of heme iron. You can get it from clams, oysters, and mussels. Liver is also a great source of heme iron, so if you don’t like it, or didn’t as a kid, it’s time to look up some interesting recipes that will make you eat it. Pork liver, chicken liver, and beef liver are all excellent sources of iron. While these are the best sources of heme iron, you can also get it from other meats and seafood like beef, sardines, shrimp, and turkey. Keep in mind that pregnant women should not eat liver, as the high vitamin A levels are known to harm the child.
Excellent sources of non-heme iron include breakfast cereal, especially those fortified with iron, lentils, beans, molasses, and pumpkins seeds. You can also get iron from pasta, asparagus, and potatoes (along with the skin). It’s best to design your meals in such a way that you get both heme and non-heme iron in each meal. When eaten together, both of them tend to be absorbed better. Also, some foods that do not contain iron may actually work to enhance absorption. These foods include meat and poultry, citrus fruits like oranges, cantaloupes, grapefruit and strawberries, and veggies like sprouts, broccoli, tomato and peppers. An occasional glass of white wine will also help. On the other hand, coffee, tea, soft drinks and alcohol will slow down absorption. Whole grains such as bran and soy products have also been shown to reduce absorption, along with some vegetables like spinach, sweet potato, beet, chard and rhubarb.
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