Diet Tips To Overcome Iron Deficiency

Abstract

You must have learnt this fact in schools that we should cook our food in iron utensils as it will fulfill a part of iron requirement. This tells us the importance of iron required by our body. With time we have become a part of the rat race and running after money. In this process we have compromised many things like relations, health, hobbies and so on. Try to recall when was the last time you had  family dinner without holding your smartphone in one hand and spoon in one hand. Life has picked up at such a pace that we don’t have enough time to look after our health, diet. Eating junk food This is the reason that the number of cases are increasing with iron deficiency

Introduction

Daily requirement of iron for an adult is 8.7 mg in men and 14.8 mg in women. Below these daily recommended values of iron leads to low storage and hence called iron deficiency. Deficiency of iron in the body could lead to many diseases out of which iron deficiency anemia is very common. According to the Ayurvedic texts it is pitta and kapha dosha which causes iron deficiency.

Iron Deficiency

Various Stages of Iron Deficiency Are As Follows

  1. Storage depletion: Iron is not directly stored as iron in the elemental form, rather it is stored in the form called ferritin. Low ferritin indicates towards the compromised state of iron storage
  2. Mild deficiency: In this stage, transferring a type of transport iron decreases resulting in the shrinkage or decrease in the size of red blood cells, though the hemoglobin levels are not altered.
  3. Iron deficiency anemia: In this stage of iron deficiency the haemoglobin begins to fall. At this moment red blood cells decrease in number, reduce in size and contain less hemoglobin than before.

Causes of Iron deficiency

  1. Inadequate iron in diet: A diet that is not containing enough iron consistently lead to iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia in later stages
  2. Menstruation: In several conditions when the blood flow is heavy during the menstrual cycle, females become more susceptible to iron deficiency.
  3. Pregnancy: When the blood flow is distributed to the fetus that is growing in the womb of a mother, the daily requirement of iron increases. Therefore, if a pregnant woman does not take iron supplements, it leads to iron deficiency.
  4. Gastro-intestinal disorders: Several diseases that cause a barrier in the absorption of nutrients also account for iron deficiency. For example: Celiac disease and Crohn’s disease
  5. Family history: In cases where there are some family disorders running in traits like sickle cell anemia, then you become susceptible to be iron deficient.
  6. Chronic illness: In several chronic illnesses like malignancy the risk of iron deficiency increases.
  7. Elderly: The digestive system becomes weak after a certain age, especially in elderly, so absorption of iron is not done properly by the gut, therefore making them more prone to iron deficiency.
  8. Vitamin C deficiency: Vitamin C helps in the absorption of iron. So, lacking vitamin C in the body causes low storage of iron.
  9. Regular blood donors: Individuals who are a part of blood donation, are also affected with iron deficiency

Symptoms of Iron Deficiency

  • Breathlessness
  • Feeling exhausted
  • Pale skin appearance
  • Altered heart rate
  • Generalized weakness
  • Lack of concentration
  • Body ache with cold sensation
  • Swelling on the tongue with soreness

Diet Tips to Overcome Iron Deficiency

Eating a good and balanced diet that is rich in iron  is the best way to prevent iron deficiency. One more preventive measure we could take, that is cooking our food in iron utensils. When we cook food in iron utensils then it is mandatory that we are shifting the food once cooked to other utensils.

Foods that could fulfill daily iron requirements:

  • Sea food
  • Red meat, pork and poultry. Many people hesitate to eat meat, but animal source is comparatively richer than plant source of iron
  • Sprouts. One can add salad made of sprouts with dinner or in the snacks
  • Dry fruits like apricots and raisins (Soak them overnight, so that they are not causing indigestion)
  • Spinach a rich source of iron is  easily available and could also be used to make vegetable soup
  • Beans are also very rich in iron
  • Broccoli
  • Pomegranate: a complete package with minerals and vitamins is another good source of iron
  • Amla is not itself rich in iron,but is a rich source of vitamin C which plays a major role in the absorption of iron in the gut.
  • Avoid junk food
  • Don’t consume iron rich food with foods or drinks which hinders iron absorption. For example coffee, tea or calcium rich diet
  • Eat beta carotene rich food that will enhance the absorption of iron such as apricot, beets etc

Conclusion

In the time when ordering a pizza while sitting in a group has become a status symbol, we are becoming victims of malnutrition disorders. The crisis is that the sources have not gone away, the choices have been changed. We prefer synthetic ready made soup which is expensive, but will never take the pain to make fresh vegetable soup at home. In order to save time, we are playing with our health. This laziness and ignorance towards our health is leading us to the road where we will not gain anything, other than numerous diseases. It is high time when we all should start living a healthy life, before it’s too late.