What is anemia?
Anemia happens when you don’t have enough red blood cells or your red blood cells don’t work as they should. Your red blood cells carry oxygen throughout your body. Oxygen powers your cells and gives you energy. Without healthy red blood cells that do their job, your body doesn’t get the energy it needs to function. While some types of anemia are short-term and mild, others can last for a lifetime. Left untreated, anemia may be life-threatening.
How does anemia affect my body?
When someone develops anemia, they’re said to be anemic, meaning they have symptoms of anemia, like being very tired or feeling cold all of the time. Anemia affects different people in different ways:
Newborns: Some infants are born with low red blood cell counts. Most newborns don’t need medical treatment for anemia, but some with severe anemia may need blood transfusions.
Infants: Infants may get less iron than they need when they start eating solid food. That’s because the iron in solid food isn’t absorbed as easily as iron in breast milk or formula. Infants with anemia may appear lethargic.
Children: Children do a lot of growing between birth and age 2. Children going through growth spurts need more iron. Children with anemia may develop related problems such as delayed development of motor skills and issues with learning.
Women who are pregnant: Women who are pregnant may develop iron-deficiency anemia, which may increase the chance of complications such as premature birth or giving birth to babies with low birth weight.
Women and people designated female at birth (DFAB): Women and people DFAB who have heavy periods (menstrual bleeding) or conditions like uterine fibroids may lose blood and develop anemia.
People age 65 and older: People over 65 are more likely to have iron-poor diets and certain chronic diseases that increase their risk of developing anemia. If they develop anemia, they may have heart conditions or weakness that makes it hard for them to get around. They may have confusion or depression.
People with chronic conditions: Some chronic conditions like autoimmune diseases or cancer may increase the risk of anemia. This is anemia of chronic disease.
How common is this condition?
Anemia is very common, affecting an estimated one-third of the global population and an estimated 3 million people in the United States.
What are the types of anemia?
There are many anemia types, each causing red blood cell levels to drop.
Nutritional anemias
Pernicious anemia: Pernicious anemia, one of the causes of vitamin B12 deficiency, is an autoimmune condition that prevents your body from absorbing vitamin B12.
Iron-deficiency anemia: As its name implies, iron-deficiency anemia happens when your body doesn’t have enough iron to make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the substance in your red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen throughout your body.
Megaloblastic anemia: Megaloblastic anemia is a type of vitamin deficiency anemia that happens when you don’t get enough vitamin B12 and/or vitamin B9 (folate).
Inherited anemias
Sickle cell anemia: Sickle cell anemia changes your red blood cells’ shape, turning round flexible discs into stiff and sticky sickle cells that block blood flow.
Fanconi anemia: Fanconi anemia is a rare blood disorder. Anemia is one sign of Fanconi anemia.
Diamond-Blackfan anemia: This inherited disorder keeps your bone marrow from making enough red blood cells.
Anemias caused by abnormal red blood cells
Hemolytic anemia: In this anemia, your red blood cells break down or die faster than usual.
Aplastic anemia: This anemia happens when stem cells in your bone marrow don’t make enough red blood cells.
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia: In autoimmune hemolytic anemia, your immune system attacks your red blood cells.
Sideroblastic anemia: In sideroblastic anemia, you don’t have enough red blood cells and you have too much iron in your system.
Macrocytic anemia: This anemia happens when your bone marrow makes unusually large red blood cells.
Microcytic anemia: This anemia happens when your red blood cells don’t have enough hemoglobin so they’re smaller than usual.
Normocytic anemia: In this type of anemia, you have fewer red blood cells than usual, and those red blood cells don’t have the normal amount of hemoglobin.
What are the symptoms of anemia?
Fatigue — feeling too tired to manage your activities — is the most noticeable anemia symptom. Other symptoms may include:
Shortness of breath (dyspnea): This is the feeling you can’t catch your breath or take a deep breath.
Dizziness: This is feeling lightheaded or unsteady on your feet.
Fast or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia): This is when your heart feels like it's racing or skipping beats.
Pounding or “whooshing” sound in your ear (pulsatile tinnitus): This is a swooshing sound in one of your ears that may come and go.
Headache: Iron-deficiency anemia and anemias caused by low hemoglobin may cause headaches.
Pale or yellow skin: Your skin color may be paler than usual.
Chest pain: This may feel like something is pressing on or squeezing your chest.
What is the main cause of anemia?
People may be born with certain types of anemia or develop anemia because they have certain chronic diseases. But poor diet causes iron-deficiency anemia, which is the most common form of anemia.
Anemia Diagnosis
A complete blood count (CBC) test will measure your red blood cells, hemoglobin, and other parts of your blood. Your doctor will ask about your family history and your medical history after the CBC. They’ll probably do some tests, including:
Blood smear or differential to count your white blood cells, check the shape of your red blood cells, and look for unusual cells
Reticulocyte count to check for immature red blood cells
Anemia Treatment
Your treatment will depend on your type of anemia.
If you have aplastic anemia, you might need medication, blood transfusions (in which you get blood from another person), or a bone marrow transplant (in which you get a donor’s stem cells).
If you have hemolytic anemia, you might need medication that will hold back your immune system. Your primary care doctor may refer you to a doctor who specializes in vascular problems.
If it’s caused by blood loss, you might have surgery to find and fix the bleeding. If you have iron-deficiency anemia, you’ll probably need to take iron supplements and change your diet.
Sickle cell anemia treatment includes painkillers, folic acid supplements, intermittent antibiotics or oxygen therapy. A drug. called hydroxyurea (Droxia, Hydrea, Siklos) is often prescribed to decrease sickle cell pain crises (complicated mechanism). The medication called voxelator (Oxbryta) which can help your red blood cells keep their proper shape. Crizanlizumab-tmca (Adakveo) can keep the blood cells from sticking together and blocking vessels. L-glutamine oral powder (Endari) can cut down on your trips to the hospital for pain and also guard against a condition called acute chest syndrome.
If you have a vitamin B12 or folate deficiency, you will be prescribed supplements..
Thalassemia doesn’t usually need treatment, but if your case is severe, you might have blood transfusions, a bone marrow transplant, or surgery.
Best Diet Plan for Anemia
Anemia happens when your body doesn’t have enough healthy red blood cells. The condition is mainly caused by blood loss, the destruction of red blood cells, or your body’s inability to create enough red blood cells.
There are many types of anemia. The most common type is iron deficiency anemia.
Red blood cells contain a protein called hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is full of iron. Without sufficient iron, your body can’t make the hemoglobin it needs to create enough red blood cells to deliver oxygen-rich blood throughout your body.
A lack of folate and vitamin B-12 may also impact your body’s ability to make red blood cells. If your body can’t process B-12 properly, you may develop pernicious anemia.
A diet rich in iron, B vitamins, and vitamin C like the plan below is important if you have anemia. Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about supplements as well.
Anemia diet plan
Anemia treatment plans often include dietary changes. The best diet plan for anemia includes foods rich in iron and other vitamins essential to hemoglobin and red blood cell production. It should also include foods that help your body absorb iron better.
There are two types of iron in foods: heme iron and nonheme iron.
Heme iron is found in meat, poultry, and seafood. Nonheme iron is found in plant foods and foods fortified with iron. Your body can absorb both types, but it absorbs heme iron more easily.
The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for iron is 10 milligrams (mg) for men and 12 mg for women.
Although anemia treatment plans are individualized, most require 150 to 200 mg of elemental iron daily. You’ll likely need to take prescription iron or an over-the-counter iron supplement until your levels are replenished.
Add these foods to your diet to get more iron and help fight iron deficiency anemia:
1. Leafy greens
Leafy greens, especially dark ones, are among the best sources of nonheme iron. They include:
spinach
kale
collard greens
dandelion greens
Swiss chard
Some leafy greens such as Swiss chard and collard greens also contain folate. A diet low in folate may cause folate deficiency anemia. Citrus fruits, beans, and whole grains are good sources of folate.
When eating dark, leafy greens for iron, there’s a catch. Some greens high in iron, such as spinach and kale, are also high in oxalates. Oxalates can bind with iron, preventing the absorption of nonheme iron.
So while it’s beneficial to eat your greens as part of an overall anemia diet, don’t depend on them solely to treat the condition.
Vitamin C helps your stomach absorb iron. Eating leafy greens with foods that contain vitamin C such as oranges, red peppers, and strawberries may increase iron absorption. Some greens are good sources of both iron and vitamin C, such as collard greens and Swiss chard.
2. Meat and poultry
All meat and poultry contain heme iron. Red meat, lamb, and venison are the best sources. Poultry and chicken have lower amounts.
Eating meat or poultry with nonheme iron foods, such as leafy greens, along with a vitamin C-rich fruit can increase iron absorption.
3. Liver
Many people shy away from organ meats, but they’re a great source of iron.
Liver is arguably the most popular organ meat. It’s rich in iron and folate. Some other iron-rich organ meats are heart, kidney, and beef tongue.
4. Seafood
Some seafood provides heme iron. Shellfish such as oysters, clams, scallops, crabs, and shrimp are good sources. Most fish contain iron.
Fish with the best levels of iron include:
canned or fresh tuna
mackerel
mahi mahi
pompano
fresh perch
fresh or canned salmon
canned tuna
Although canned sardines are good sources of iron, they’re also high in calcium.
Calcium may bind with iron and reduces its absorption. Foods high in calcium shouldn’t be eaten at the same time as iron-rich foods. Other examples of calcium-rich foods include:
dairy milk
fortified plant milks
yogurt
kefir
cheese
tofu
5. Fortified foods
Many foods are fortified with iron. Add these foods to your diet if you’re a vegetarian or struggle to eat other sources of iron:
fortified orange juice
fortified ready-to-eat cereals
foods made from fortified refined flour such as white bread
fortified pasta
foods made from fortified cornmeal
fortified white rice
Sources:
https://www.healthline.com/health/best-diet-plan-for-anemia#fortified-foods
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-anemia-basics
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/3929-anemia
Prepared by Viktorija Stučytė based on online sources
#anemia #iron #red blood cells #hemoglobin #vitamin