Anemia is one condition that is highly prevalent in Indian Women. It develops due to lack of healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin in the blood. Less hemoglobin means less oxygen supply to the cells in your body, which leads to fatigue and a number of other problems. Men are considered as anemic if their hemoglobin level is less than 13.5 grams/100 ml and women, when it is less than 12.0 gram/100ml. below are What is Anemia, dietary precautions to avoid Anemia and stay healthy.
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Dietary Precautions to avoid Anemia
About 55% of Indian women suffer from this anemia and less than half of them actually know that they’re anemic. This is sad!
Though there are many types of anemia, Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common type and easily treatable. Read on to know what all to do so as to avoid this condition.
Common causes of Iron deficiency Anemia
The Body needs the mineral iron to make hemoglobin. Iron deficient anemia can be caused by –
- Iron poor diet
- High metabolic demands during pregnancy and breastfeeding
- Menstruation
- Digestive issues like Crohn’s disease
- Caffeinated drinks and some foods
Symptoms of Anemia
- Shortness of breath
- Tiredness and Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Racing heartbeat
- Feeling cold
- Pale face
- Hair Loss (rarely)
Diagnosis of Anemia
- A complete blood cell count (CBC) or Complete blood picture (CBP) is done to screen anemia and other blood abnormalities.
- To diagnose anemia CBC/CBT measurements of the following components should be known-
- RBC count
- Hemoglobin
- Hematocrit
Treatment for Anemia
- Anemia due to iron deficiency is mainly treated by giving iron supplements in either tablet or a syrup form
- In severe cases of anemia, a blood transfusion may be required.
Foods Rich in Iron
Iron in food comes from both animal (Heme iron) and plant (Non-heme iron) sources.
Animal sources of iron include:
- Eggs
- Chicken liver
- Beef liver
- Mutton
- Tuna
- Shrimps, etc.
Plant sources of iron include:
- Beans
- Oatmeal
- Spinach
- Whole wheat bread
- Peanut butter
- Brown rice
- Lentils, etc.
If you are diagnosed with Iron deficient anemia, include the above-given foods into your daily diet to increase the iron levels in the body so as to pep up hemoglobin levels in the blood. If you are a vegetarian and keen to derive your iron need from plant sources, combine your food with vitamin – C (includes vitamin-c rich foods) to increase the absorption of iron.
It is always better to talk to your health care advisor before taking any extra supplementations for curbing anemia.
If you are not anemic, include the required amount of iron into your daily diet to stave off anemia.
The above are the details about What is Anemia, dietary precautions to avoid Anemia and stay healthy