Diet tips to beat anemia and increase hemoglobin

Are you anemic? Here are tips to help you deal with this condition.

Iron deficiency or anemia is a very common blood disorder. It is a condition where the body produces fewer red blood cells, whose main function is to carry oxygen to the brain and other parts of body. Hemoglobin is the most important component of red blood cells; it s a protein whose main function is to carry oxygen from lungs to body s cells through bloodstream. Due to insufficient iron in the body, the body cannot produce enough hemoglobin to carry oxygen as a result a person feels tired and fatigued.

Anemia due to iron deficiency occurs due to any of the following reasons:

Inadequate iron intake: People who don t include iron-rich sources in their diet suffer from anemia. Rich sources include green leafy vegetables, red meat, garden cress seeds, dates, and processed foods like rice flakes and some breakfast cereals. It is important to understand that the availability of iron from non-vegetarian source is far better than the vegetarian sources. Only 3-5% iron gets absorbed from vegetarian sources therefore to improve the availability, vegetarians should also include vitamin C-rich foods in their diet as it improves iron availability.

Inadequate utilisation of iron: Many adverse health conditions hamper the absorption of iron like gastrointestinal disturbances, chronic inflammation, or in case of defective iron utilisation.

Sudden blood loss: This can occur in case of accidental hemorrhage, in chronic diseases such as tuberculosis, ulcers or intestinal disorders. Excessive blood loss during menstruation and childbirth can cause anemia.

Increased iron requirements: Iron requirement increase during certain conditions and growth period like during infancy, adolescence, pregnancy and lactation. If the iron intake during these phases is not increased it can result in anemia.

Inadequate absorption of iron: This can occur during diarrhea or when there is lack of acid secretion by the stomach or in chronic renal diseases when antacid therapy is given.

Diet tips to manage anemia and increase hemoglobin levels

Include at least two servings of iron-rich foods like red meat, egg yolk, green leafy vegetables, prunes, raisins, chickpea, soybean, liver, nachni, dates, garden cress seeds, etc.

Consume foods rich in vitamin C such as orange, guava, amla, etc. in combination with iron-rich foods because vitamin C promotes iron absorption.

Include foods rich in folic acid, it s a B complex vitamin that is essential for producing constituent of hemoglobin i.e. white blood cells. Good sources of folic acid foods include pulses, green leafy vegetables, cluster beans, ladies finger, liver and eggs.

Some foods block the absorption of iron such as tea, coffee, colas and foods rich in calcium such as milk and milk products therefore care must be taken to avoid taking such foods along with iron-rich foods.

Foods rich in oxalic acid also hamper the iron absorption therefore they need to be avoided when person is suffering from iron deficiency.

Anemia can also be caused due to the deficiency of nutrients like copper, protein, energy, vitamin B6 and vitamin E. Therefore one should make sure they eat balanced, nutritious meals.

Farzana Chauhan is a dietician helping clients make healthier food choices. Through her website www.allaboutdiets.in she has been able to successfully help people control lifestyle problems like obesity, PCOD/PCOS, thyroid, high cholesterol, type II diabetes, hypertension, etc. with the help of diet modification, counseling and exercise.

Photo source: Getty images

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