"Don't think much of a man, who is not wiser today than he was yesterday", enshrining this quote by Mr. Abraham Lincoln let us now head straight to a dreaded condition which is dwelling in every 2nd woman of developing countries. Not many must be aware that, this condition is a slow poison that not only reduces the standard of performance of a person but also, is capable of causing serious heart conditions. The worst hit by anemia are the pre-school children, adolescent girls and pregnant women.
WHAAAAAAT IS IT?
The blood in our body performs an essential function of carrying oxygen to each and every cell that survives in our body, and that container which holds oxygen till it gets to the innermost cell is HEMOGLOBIN. Now, this hemoglobin level is something which decides if you are anemic or no. Hemoglobin demands IRON for its existence, that is met by the food that we eat.
The normal levels of hemoglobin are:
MALES: 13gm/dl- 18gm/dl
FEMALES: 12gm/dl- 16gm/dl
CHILDREN: 11gm/dl- 13gm/dl
(SOURCE: Harrison's textbook of internal medicine)
I am sure many of you'll must be already aware of these facts, just a revision. Don't judge, we're getting to the better part.
WHY YOU?
Since anemia is more often seen in women, the obvious cause of the same is heavy menstrual bleeding. Some females complaint about the symptoms of anemia aggravating immediately after they get their monthly period cycle, such are the indications which, shouldn't be ignored.
The colour of your stools also tell a lot about your gut health. No matter how much ever gross it sounds, but you MUST always check the colour of your stools. Red or black-brown stools may indicate bleeding from your intestine or stomach walls, consult your doctor immediately. That can also be a contributing factor for anemia.
If you have been popping painkillers like ASPIRIN or IBUPROFEN, on a regular basis for a long time now, you may fall under the high risk group of stomach ulcers which may cause bleeding AND anemia.
If you like munching on your salads and veggies but do not wash them properly before eating, you might have domiciled hundreds of worms in your intestine, which might be slurping your blood out. 1 Round-worm sucks upto 0.2 ml of blood everyday, now do the math.
PREGNANCY almost always causes anemia! ( Cannot let this topic steal the thunder of other causes of anemia. A blog on 'Pregnancy Care' will be published soon.)
WARNINGG SIGNS:
The symptoms of anemia are difficult to notice as they can be quite indefinite, this explains why anemia prevails invariably throughout the world. Efforts should be taken to spot the below mentioned symptoms if present abnormally and chronically!
WHAAAAAAT IS IT?
The blood in our body performs an essential function of carrying oxygen to each and every cell that survives in our body, and that container which holds oxygen till it gets to the innermost cell is HEMOGLOBIN. Now, this hemoglobin level is something which decides if you are anemic or no. Hemoglobin demands IRON for its existence, that is met by the food that we eat.
The normal levels of hemoglobin are:
MALES: 13gm/dl- 18gm/dl
FEMALES: 12gm/dl- 16gm/dl
CHILDREN: 11gm/dl- 13gm/dl
(SOURCE: Harrison's textbook of internal medicine)
I am sure many of you'll must be already aware of these facts, just a revision. Don't judge, we're getting to the better part.
WHY YOU?
Since anemia is more often seen in women, the obvious cause of the same is heavy menstrual bleeding. Some females complaint about the symptoms of anemia aggravating immediately after they get their monthly period cycle, such are the indications which, shouldn't be ignored.
The colour of your stools also tell a lot about your gut health. No matter how much ever gross it sounds, but you MUST always check the colour of your stools. Red or black-brown stools may indicate bleeding from your intestine or stomach walls, consult your doctor immediately. That can also be a contributing factor for anemia.
If you have been popping painkillers like ASPIRIN or IBUPROFEN, on a regular basis for a long time now, you may fall under the high risk group of stomach ulcers which may cause bleeding AND anemia.
If you like munching on your salads and veggies but do not wash them properly before eating, you might have domiciled hundreds of worms in your intestine, which might be slurping your blood out. 1 Round-worm sucks upto 0.2 ml of blood everyday, now do the math.
PREGNANCY almost always causes anemia! ( Cannot let this topic steal the thunder of other causes of anemia. A blog on 'Pregnancy Care' will be published soon.)
WARNINGG SIGNS:
The symptoms of anemia are difficult to notice as they can be quite indefinite, this explains why anemia prevails invariably throughout the world. Efforts should be taken to spot the below mentioned symptoms if present abnormally and chronically!
1) Fatigue in doing daily activities.
2) Shortness of breath.
3) Feeling of heart beating fast. ( heart palpitations)
4) Pale complexion
5) Loss of interest.
6) Constant urge of shaking/moving legs. ( restless leg syndrome)
2) Constant urge of eating non-nutritious food like ice, clay, chalk, paper etc. (PICA)
3) Hair loss
4) Ringing of ears
5) Smooth, swollen, red tongue (bald tongue).
EAT TO TREAT!
I am sure you guys all are already aware about things that help increase the iron content in the diet but here's a complete list of food products that we eat on a regular basis but not in abundance.
NON- VEGETARIAN: ( better source of iron than vegetarian sources)
Chicken organs (liver)
Mutton organs (liver, kidney)
Fish (salmon, tuna)
Turkey
Beef
Oysters
VEGETARIAN:
Green leafy vegetables:
Spinach
Dill (Shepu)
Fenugreek (Methi)
Kale
Broccoli
Carbohydrates:
Oatmeal
Brown bread/ pasta/ rice
others:
Soybean
Lentils
Dried peaches
Raisins
Tofu
Dark chocolates
Black eyed peas
Jaggery ( DARK BROWN ONLY)
IRON SUPPLEMENTATION:
Ideally an adult requires 200mg of iron everyday. If due to any of the above unavoidable reasons your iron intake has been inadequate and in-spite of desperate efforts to replenish iron reserves, your hemoglobin reports still say that you are MILDLY (10-11.9 g/dl) or MODERATELY (7-9.9 g/dl) or SEVERELY (less than 7g/dl) anemic, without a second thought, your next best option after dietary iron is ORAL IRON SUPPLEMENTS.
But since your hemoglobin levels decide the dosage of iron supplements, I would strongly recommend that you work the dosages and type of supplement with the physician for your everyday iron supplements as EXCESS IRON INTAKE can be really really HAZARDOUS. Once you get an appropriate dosage from your doctor, you do not need a prescription for subsequent buys.
Normally, a dosage of 60mg-120mg divided 2-3 times a day is prescribed.
PLEASE NOTE:
1) Always try to take iron tablets with a glass of orange or lemon juice, vitamin C increases the iron absorption.
2) Avoid taking milk, dairy products, calcium supplements, tea, coffee, antacids along with your iron supplements. These products reduce iron absorption to half.
3) You shall have to continue taking your iron supplements for 6 more months after your hemoglobin levels strike back to normal.
4) Get yourself DE-WORMED regularly :
2) Shortness of breath.
3) Feeling of heart beating fast. ( heart palpitations)
4) Pale complexion
5) Loss of interest.
6) Constant urge of shaking/moving legs. ( restless leg syndrome)
- Less common symptoms:
2) Constant urge of eating non-nutritious food like ice, clay, chalk, paper etc. (PICA)
3) Hair loss
4) Ringing of ears
5) Smooth, swollen, red tongue (bald tongue).
EAT TO TREAT!
I am sure you guys all are already aware about things that help increase the iron content in the diet but here's a complete list of food products that we eat on a regular basis but not in abundance.
NON- VEGETARIAN: ( better source of iron than vegetarian sources)
Chicken organs (liver)
Mutton organs (liver, kidney)
Fish (salmon, tuna)
Turkey
Beef
Oysters
VEGETARIAN:
Green leafy vegetables:
Spinach
Dill (Shepu)
Fenugreek (Methi)
Kale
Broccoli
Carbohydrates:
Oatmeal
Brown bread/ pasta/ rice
others:
Soybean
Lentils
Dried peaches
Raisins
Tofu
Dark chocolates
Black eyed peas
Jaggery ( DARK BROWN ONLY)
IRON SUPPLEMENTATION:
Ideally an adult requires 200mg of iron everyday. If due to any of the above unavoidable reasons your iron intake has been inadequate and in-spite of desperate efforts to replenish iron reserves, your hemoglobin reports still say that you are MILDLY (10-11.9 g/dl) or MODERATELY (7-9.9 g/dl) or SEVERELY (less than 7g/dl) anemic, without a second thought, your next best option after dietary iron is ORAL IRON SUPPLEMENTS.
But since your hemoglobin levels decide the dosage of iron supplements, I would strongly recommend that you work the dosages and type of supplement with the physician for your everyday iron supplements as EXCESS IRON INTAKE can be really really HAZARDOUS. Once you get an appropriate dosage from your doctor, you do not need a prescription for subsequent buys.
Normally, a dosage of 60mg-120mg divided 2-3 times a day is prescribed.
PLEASE NOTE:
1) Always try to take iron tablets with a glass of orange or lemon juice, vitamin C increases the iron absorption.
2) Avoid taking milk, dairy products, calcium supplements, tea, coffee, antacids along with your iron supplements. These products reduce iron absorption to half.
3) You shall have to continue taking your iron supplements for 6 more months after your hemoglobin levels strike back to normal.
4) Get yourself DE-WORMED regularly :
Tablet Albendazole ( Zentel) 1 tablet stat, every 6 months.
SIDE EFFECTS:
- Dark stools (ignore)
- Upset stomach ( have your meal immediately after you have iron tablets.)
- Constipation (have plenty of water)
- Heartburn (if excess, consult your physician for a dose change)
MYTH-O-LITH:
When I was researching around before writing this blog, I came across a very interesting dispute among health experts about cooked food and uncooked food. The reason I called it a controversial topic is, both the methods have their pros and cons.
In my opinion, yes the uncooked food gives you dietary fibers which helps you prevent constipation and enriches your body with some heat sensitive vitamins, but it does more harm to your body than good.
Cooking not only kills innumerable bacteria and parasites in your vegetables and meat but also helps easy availability of nutrients to your body by breaking down complex shells present in plant cells.
Guys, please do not ignore IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA! No matter how casual and regular it sounds, it KILLS. It is responsible for the premature heart attacks and heart failures that we hear about all around.
You will realize how much better your life gets, when your blood is all pumped up with iron!
MUCH POWER TO YOU GUYS. #DOCYOU!
SHARE IF YOU CARE!
In my opinion, yes the uncooked food gives you dietary fibers which helps you prevent constipation and enriches your body with some heat sensitive vitamins, but it does more harm to your body than good.
Cooking not only kills innumerable bacteria and parasites in your vegetables and meat but also helps easy availability of nutrients to your body by breaking down complex shells present in plant cells.
Guys, please do not ignore IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA! No matter how casual and regular it sounds, it KILLS. It is responsible for the premature heart attacks and heart failures that we hear about all around.
You will realize how much better your life gets, when your blood is all pumped up with iron!
MUCH POWER TO YOU GUYS. #DOCYOU!
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