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Just iron it out

PHOTO: P.V. Sivakumar

GREENS GALORE It’s a great way to avoid anaemia

A volunteer in a leading hospital in Chennai took a group of young women to a blood bank to donate blood for a patient undergoing major heart surgery.

He was dismayed to find that all the women were anaemic and, therefore, not fit to donate blood. He could not believe that these young and healthy appearing women were actually anaemic.

He was finding out the real facts: in India 50-70 per cent of women are anaemic. Iron-deficiency anaemia is the most common form of malnutrition in the world and is the eighth leading cause of disease in girls and women in developing countries like India.

What is anaemia?

Anaemia is a condition where the amount of red blood cells in the body is abnormally low. Red blood cells contain a pigment called haemoglobin which is what gives blood its colour.

Haemoglobin transports oxygen around the body. When red blood cells, and consequently haemoglobin, are low, the body’s tissues are not supplied with adequate amounts of oxygen.

Women with a haemoglobin level of less than 11 gm/dL are considered to be anaemic.

Causes of anaemia

In women, the common causes of anaemia are related to heavy menstruation, pregnancy and poor dietary habits. Deficiency of iron or less commonly, vitamin B12 and folic acid, can cause anaemia.

Iron deficiency anaemia

This is the most common type of anaemia, occurring in 50-70 per cent of girls and women in India. Adequate production of red blood cells requires iron, along with vitamins, and protein. Iron-rich foods include fruit, dark green vegetables, whole grain bread, beans, meat, eggs, and dairy products.

Women with heavy periods are at risk for iron deficiency anaemia because they lose excessive blood, month after month, during their periods. Pregnancy too may lead to iron deficiency anaemia if adequate iron supplementation is not provided.

Vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia

Vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia (also called pernicious anaemia), is caused either by the absence of dietary B12 as in a vegetarian diet or by the inadequate absorption of vitamin B12 from the diet. A vegetarian is at risk of developing pernicious anaemia because vitamin B12 is only found in foods of animal origin. Vitamin B12 can be found in liver, meat and dairy products.

Avoiding anaemia

To avoid getting anaemia you should stick to a healthy balanced diet and ensure you eat food that contains good sources of iron, folic acid and vitamin B12. If you are a strict vegetarian you should take vitamin B12 supplements to avoid deficiency.

Since most Indian girls and women will not be able to get enough iron from their diet, iIt is a good idea to take an iron supplement which includes folic acid and B12.

Adolescent girls and women in the child-bearing age group should take a supplement for at least three months in each year.

The ideal supplement will contain 100 mg of elemental iron in the form of ferrous sulphate, ferrous fumarate or ferrous gluconate.

These are the best absorbed forms of iron salt. More expensive forms of iron salts are not necessarily better in improving iron stores in the body.

Oral iron is best taken on an empty stomach or two hours after a meal. Vitamin C and citric fruit juices may help in absorption of iron. Milk, dairy products and calcium slow absorption of iron and so should not be taken at the same time as the iron tablet. Many women are concerned about the side-effects of taking iron supplements.

Oral iron can cause stomach irritation, diarrhoea or constipation.

If the iron tablets are continued without stopping, the symptoms will usually subside in about two weeks.

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