ANEMIA

Anemia, which means “lacking in blood”, is amongst the most common disease seen in humans. It is prevalent in not only the poorer classes of the society (who cannot afford to eat two whole meals in a day), but in the higher classes (who consume excessive amounts of refined, processed and ready to eat foods) as well!!!

·         Blood performs a very important function in our body.

·         It transports oxygen from the air to all parts of our body.

·         This function is carried out by hemoglobin (Hb) in the red blood cells (RBCs).

·         It is hemoglobin which gives the red color to the cells. It is made up of two parts: ‘heme’ which contains iron and a protein called globin.

Anemia = Iron deficiency is the most common misconception.

·         Anemia is caused either because of decreased RBC count, or less hemoglobin, or a deficiency of iron.

·         Because anemia decreases oxygen delivery to every tissue in the body, it may cause a variety of signs and symptoms.

These include fatigue, dizziness, pale nails, lips and eyelids, drowsiness, soreness in the mouth, headache, loss of appetite and difficulty in concentrating.

What to eat?

·         Green leafy vegetables, beet root, black currants, dates, honey provide rich supplies of iron.

·         Wheatgrass juice is also very effective in treating anemia. It contains a whole range of vitamins A, B, C and E. In addition to this, it is believed that, the green coloring pigment chlorophyll in the grass helps in boosting hemoglobin content of blood.

·         Brown rice, flax seed powder (javas) sesame seeds, soybeans contain ample amount of vitamin E which protects the RBCs from destruction.

·         Citrus fruits like mosambi, oranges, and lemons contain vitamin C which improves the absorption of iron.

·         Sprouts, fermented foods provide the entire vitamin B complex along with vitamins C and E.

·         Buttermilk and yoghurt provide a whole group of healthy bacteria which live in the intestine and absorb vitamin B12 from the diet and improve the digestion as well.

A few tips on cooking…..

·         Before eating an orange/mosambi/squeezing a lemon, just insert a clean, washed iron nail into it. The acidic environment in the fruit dissolves the iron into it and iron in this form is the one which our body can absorb.

·         Add honey to lemon juice instead of sugar, it will provide a good supply of iron.

·         As far as possible, daily cooking should be done in iron utensils.

It is easily possible to cure anemia without even taking iron supplements. Because, excess of iron supplementation may be detrimental to health.

Just balancing the diet with appropriate nutrients does the trick. This is especially important in lower classes of the society who cannot afford to buy nutritional supplements and are solely dependent on their diet.