Anemia: What foods should you avoid and what should you eat?

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Anemia is a condition in which the body has too few red blood cells, which is unable to transport oxygen to the body’s tissues and organs sufficiently. This results in fatigue, fatigue more easily than usual, and frequent dizziness, which can be relieved by eating the right foods. Learning what not to eat with anemia may help patients with this disease take better care of themselves. In general, patients with anemia should avoid eating foods that may reduce the efficiency of iron absorption, such as foods high in calcium such as milk, yogurt, cheese, alcoholic beverages such as liquor, beer, wine, foods high in polyphenols such as tea, coffee, and eating foods that contain iron, which helps produce enough red blood cells for the body’s needs, and foods that contain vitamin C, โปรโมชั่น ufabet such as citrus fruits, which help the body absorb iron better.

What causes anemia?

Anemia is caused by the body having a lower than normal number of red blood cells and a lower concentration of hemoglobin, a protein in the blood that transports oxygen to body tissues. This makes it impossible to transport enough oxygen to the body’s organs. This results in symptoms of fatigue, dizziness, frequent headaches, faintness, and pale skin. It is usually caused by iron deficiency, an important mineral that helps produce enough red blood cells for the body’s needs. Therefore, it is important to eat foods that contain iron and other nutrients, especially vitamin C, which helps the body absorb iron better to prevent anemia.

Symptoms of anemia

Symptoms of anemia may include:

  • Pale skin or skin that looks yellower than usual
  • Dizziness
  • Frequent headaches
  • faint
  • tired
  • Easily tired
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Easily irritated
  • Loss of appetite

Risk groups for anemia may include the following:

  • Women during menstruation
  • Pregnant and breastfeeding women
  • Newborns, especially premature infants
  • Children who are entering adolescence, because it is the age when they need to use more blood and have more muscle mass, therefore they need more iron, especially girls who are starting to menstruate.
  • Vegetarians and vegans who do not eat enough iron-rich vegetables and fruits
  • People with cancer, people on dialysis, and people with stomach ulcers
  • People who eat a fad diet or control their food intake to lose weight
  • Athletes are a group of people who have to train all the time, which makes them gain muscle. Therefore, the body needs more iron to produce new tissues and blood cells.
  • People who donate blood regularly, especially if they do not consume iron-rich foods or iron-fortified vitamins.

Anemia: What foods should you avoid?

Foods that people with anemia should avoid may include the following:

  • Alcoholic beverages

Regularly drinking alcoholic beverages such as liquor, beer, and wine not only affects overall health, but also causes the body to absorb primary nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fat, and secondary nutrients such as vitamins and minerals less effectively. People with anemia should therefore avoid drinking alcoholic beverages because it can reduce the efficiency of iron absorption into the body, causing anemia symptoms to not improve or to worsen.

  • Foods high in calcium

Foods high in calcium, such as cow’s milk, cheese, and yogurt, may inhibit the absorption of iron in the form of heme iron, found in meat, animal organs, and seafood, etc., and non-heme iron, found in egg yolks, dried beans, vegetables, etc. Therefore, it is best to avoid eating foods that contain calcium together with foods that contain iron, or eating them at around the same time, so that the body can absorb and utilize the iron as much as possible.

  • Foods high in polyphenols

Polyphenols are phytochemicals that act as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. Although they are beneficial to the body, eating foods high in polyphenols, such as tea, coffee, cocoa, apples, and spices in excessive amounts, can reduce the efficiency of iron absorption in foods for anemic patients. This causes the body to receive insufficient iron to build red blood cells and hemoglobin. Therefore, it is important to avoid eating too much so that the body can absorb iron better.

Anemia, what should I eat?

A common cause of anemia is iron deficiency, so eating the following iron-rich foods may help increase red blood cell and hemoglobin production and improve anemia.

Iron from meat such as:

  • Red meat such as pork and beef
  • Animal organs such as liver and kidneys
  • Poultry such as ducks and chickens
  • Fish or shellfish such as salmon, tuna, sardines
  • egg

Iron from plants such as

  • Legumes such as almonds, green beans, black beans
  • Whole wheat flour, such as pasta and bread
  • Dried fruits such as raisins, dried dates, dried apricots
  • Dark green leafy vegetables such as bok choy, broccoli , kale, and mustard greens
  • Iron-fortified breakfast cereals
  • tofu

In addition, you should eat foods that contain vitamin C, such as oranges, gooseberries, lemons , kiwis , cauliflower, celery, and spring onions, which help increase the efficiency of iron absorption.