Beware! The 9 most common misunderstandings about women's blood supplementation

Anemia is very common among women, and the vast majority of female friends have symptoms of anemia to varying degrees. However, it is important to note that anemia does not necessarily mean that blood supplementation is necessary. If women blindly supplement their blood, it will not only be harmful to their health, but may even bring more serious harm. The following nine misunderstandings about blood supplementation must be taken seriously by female friends!

1. Anemia does not mean you need to replenish blood

In life, people often think that they are suffering from "anemia" because of certain symptoms, so they start looking for various ways to replenish blood. But in fact, anemia is not a disease, but a clinical syndrome. Even if you really have anemia, it doesn’t mean you need to “replenish blood”.

Simply put, anemia can be defined as a pathological state caused by a decrease in the total amount of red blood cells in the human body, which cannot fully supply oxygen to the human tissues, resulting in hypoxia of the human tissues. There are many causes of anemia. Lack of folic acid, vitamins, iron and other elements can lead to anemia.

Iron deficiency anemia is just one cause of anemia. What we call blood supplementation in our daily life is aimed at iron deficiency anemia, so having anemia does not mean that you need to supplement blood.

2. Menstruation does not mean you need to replenish blood

Many women believe that menstruation will cause the body to lose a lot of blood, so they need to eat more blood-enriching foods to replenish the lost blood.

Although long-term excessive menstrual bleeding (blood loss of more than 80 ml in one menstrual cycle) is indeed a cause of anemia in women, for most healthy women with a monthly menstrual blood loss of 20-60 ml, the physiological deficiency will not cause anemia symptoms, and there is no such disease as "menstrual anemia" in medicine.

Therefore, if the menstrual period and menstrual volume are normal, menstruation will not cause anemia in women.

3. Red dates do not replenish blood

When it comes to blood-enriching foods, many people will think of red dates first. But in fact, red dates not only have a low iron content, but also a low absorption rate. From the perspective of simply replenishing iron and blood, red dates are not effective enough.

The iron content of red dates is 2-3 mg/100 g, which is a good iron supplement among plant foods, but much lower than that of animal foods (for example, the iron content of pork liver is about 30 mg/100 g).

In addition, plant iron is non-heme iron (Fe3+), which has a very low absorption rate, and the phytic acid, oxalic acid, phosphate and dietary fiber in plant foods will hinder its absorption. Therefore, red dates are not the best food for blood supplement.

4. Spinach is the most iron-rich vegetable

Many people believe that spinach contains a lot of iron and often tell their children to eat spinach to replenish their blood. Some adults with anemia also regard spinach as a good blood tonic and eat it frequently.

In fact, spinach does not have the highest iron content and cannot replenish blood. Because only 1% of the iron in spinach is absorbed in the intestines, 90% is combined with oxalic acid, which is not only difficult to absorb, but also affects the body's absorption and utilization of iron. Meat is a better source of iron than spinach. The iron contained in beef and chicken can be absorbed at 15%-35%, but the iron contained in spinach can only be absorbed at 2%-20%. Therefore, eating meat is the first choice.

5. Ejiao cannot directly replenish blood

Many people regard donkey-hide gelatin as a "holy blood tonic", but donkey-hide gelatin cannot directly replenish blood. The so-called blood-replenishing effect of donkey-hide gelatin refers to the use of the astringent function of donkey skin to temporarily gather the blood (donkey-hide gelatin is made from donkey skin), concentrating it in one place to exert its effect, thereby temporarily improving the body's condition.

Donkey-hide gelatin is a sticky substance that is difficult for the body to metabolize. People who have eaten donkey-hide gelatin know that it must be melted before eating, that is, it must be steamed in a bowl. After steaming, it is still sticky and greasy, so it needs to be mixed with medicine and stirred before it can be drunk.

Just imagine, if something cannot be dissolved even by steaming, how much vital energy does our human body need to mobilize to break it down, and how great is its astringent power. Therefore, excessive consumption will excessively consume the body's vitality and be detrimental to health.

6. Drinking chicken soup can replenish blood

Chicken soup is nutritious and delicious. Many families regard it as a nourishing tonic. Many women also like to drink more chicken soup as a tonic to replenish their blood, in order to nourish their body and qi and promote the blood-replenishing effect. After donating blood, many people also like to use chicken soup to nourish their bodies.

However, drinking too much chicken soup also has disadvantages. The production of blood is related to the content of protein, folic acid and iron in the body, but there is too much oil in chicken soup and pork rib soup (high fat content), but very little folic acid and iron. Drinking these soups is not only of little help in replenishing blood, but it is easy to consume too much fat, leading to increased blood lipids.

7. Brown sugar nourishes blood

There has always been a popular saying among the people that brown sugar water can replenish blood. Women often drink brown sugar water to replenish blood during menstruation and after giving birth. However, experts point out that brown sugar water does not have the magical effects of replenishing blood as folk legends say.

Experts say that brown sugar does not have the magical effects that people have said it would "replenish qi and blood", "promote uterine contraction, expel postpartum blood stasis in the uterine cavity, and promote early recovery of the uterus". In fact, brown sugar does not have any effective ingredients for blood tonic, and brown sugar is not purified enough and may contain impurities.

8. Vegetables and fruits to supplement iron

Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C, citric acid and malic acid, but they do not think that blood cannot be replenished without iron. In fact, this is wrong. Most fruits and vegetables do contain almost no iron, but the organic acid components contained in fruits and vegetables can react with iron to form compounds, thereby increasing the solubility of iron in the intestines and facilitating iron absorption.

9. Pork liver nourishes blood

The pig liver is the largest detoxification organ in the pig's body. Various toxic metabolites and certain toxic substances in the feed will remain in the pig liver, and after being detoxified, enter the kidneys and then be excreted from the body through urine.

The blood containing toxins in pig liver is dispersed in tens of thousands of pig liver sinusoids. Pig liver is nutritious but also contains a large amount of toxins. Its blood-replenishing effect is weak, so it is not advisable to eat too much.