Know All About Iron Deficiency Anemia

Anemia is one of the most common nutritional disorder in the world. Affecting about 3.5 million people in the USA, anemia occurs when the level of healthy red blood cells becomes too low in the body. Red blood cells or RBC containing hemoglobin are the main transporters of oxygen to your organs. There are various types of anemia such as iron deficiency anemia, vitamin deficiency anemia, aplastic anemia, sickle cell anemia and others. However iron deficiency anemia is the most common and the leading nutritional disorder in the world and we are going to talk about it in detail.

The key symptom of iron deficiency anemia is fatigue (tiredness). And then the color of your skin and nail beds turns pale and after exercise, you experience rapid heartbeat. Some of the other symptoms include:

• Shortness of breath

• Chest pain

• Dizziness or fainting especially when standing up

• Headache

• Cognitive problems

• Numbness or coldness in hands and legs

• Poor appetite

• Slowed growth in infants and

• Behavioral problems

You can develop iron deficiency anemia because of varied reasons. There are three main causes of iron-deficiency anemia.

Blood Loss

Blood loss during long or heavy menstrual periods is one of the prime reason why a large number of women suffer from iron deficiency anemia. Another reason for blood loss in women is during childbirth. When you lose blood, the level of iron in your body goes down. And subsequently, when you don't have adequate amount of iron stored in your body, you will develop iron-deficiency anemia. To make up for the iron loss, women are often advised to take herbal iron supplements which are natural and don't have any side effects.

Internal bleeding i.e. bleeding inside the body, is another factor which can cause iron-deficiency anemia. Internal bleeding can occur for various reasons such as regular consumption of aspirin or non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, colon cancer or urinary tract bleeding.

Poor Diet

One of the major reasons for iron deficiency anemia is poor diet. Some of the major sources of iron are green leafy vegetables, pomegranate, spinach, dried fruits and peas. Non-vegetarian food such as fish, eggs, meat, chicken are also rich sources of iron. Iron-fortified foods can also help in maintaining the level of iron in the body. If your diet lacks all these products, you are likely to get iron deficiency anemia.

Inability To Absorb Enough Iron

At times, you include good amount of iron in your diet but still your body lacks iron. The reason could be the inability of your body to absorb iron. This can be because of some intestinal disease or celiac disease.

How to treat anemia

For treating iron-deficiency anemia usually people are advised to take iron supplements, antibiotics and make dietary changes. Sometimes blood transfusions or iron injections are required to treat severe form of anemia. However taking synthetic iron supplements can cause stomach irritation, dark stools and other side effects. That is why people are turning to herbal iron supplements which contain herbs and are free of any preservatives and chemical additives. Herbal health products and supplements help increase the level of iron in the body, build healthy and are safe for pregnant and nursing women too.