Misconceptions about anemia diet

Everyone has heard of anemia, but do you really understand it? In life, most people will use diet therapy to improve anemia, but there are often many misunderstandings. Some people will go to the pharmacy to buy nutritional supplements such as donkey-hide gelatin to improve anemia, but donkey-hide gelatin is a drug for treating blood deficiency, not anemia.

When it comes to blood deficiency, everyone has questions. What is blood deficiency? What is the difference between blood deficiency and anemia?

Anemia ≠ blood deficiency

First of all, anemia is a concept in Western medicine, which refers to a common clinical symptom in which the volume of human peripheral blood red blood cells (calculated by hemoglobin concentration) is reduced and is below the lower limit of the normal range.

There are many causes of anemia, some are due to decreased red blood cell production, such as aplastic anemia, and some are due to excessive red blood cell consumption, such as hemolytic anemia.

The clinical manifestations of anemia involve the skin and mucous membranes (such as pallor), as well as the nervous system (dizziness, tinnitus, insomnia, etc.), respiratory, digestive, urinary, reproductive and other systems.

Blood deficiency is the name of a disease in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which refers to blood deficiency, malnutrition of internal organs, meridians and body, and a common syndrome with pale or sallow complexion, pale lips, tongue, nails and fingernails, dizziness, palpitations, frequent dreams, numbness of hands and feet, scanty and light menstruation in women, and thin pulse as common symptoms.

How to distinguish between anemia and blood deficiency? The following two pictures can clearly express it.

After understanding the difference between anemia and blood deficiency, what misunderstandings should we avoid in the process of blood supplementation?

1. Milk is beneficial for anemia

Although milk is rich in nutrients such as protein, it has a very low iron content and a high calcium and phosphorus content. The calcium and phosphorus in milk will combine with the iron in the human body to form insoluble iron compounds, making the iron in the human body even more insufficient. Therefore, people with iron deficiency anemia should not drink too much milk.

2. Excessive intake of fat does not affect anemia

A moderate amount of fat intake can provide calories for the body; however, excessive intake of fat will inhibit the body's hematopoietic function and affect the digestion and absorption function of anemic patients. Therefore, the daily fat intake should not exceed 70 grams, and generally about 50 grams is appropriate. And vegetable oils containing unsaturated fatty acids should be selected as much as possible.

3. Drinking more tea and coffee is fine

The tannic acid in tea and the polyphenols in coffee can form insoluble salts with iron, which hinders iron absorption. Therefore, drinking too much tea and coffee may lead to iron deficiency anemia.

4. Garlic has nothing to do with anemia

Garlic contains a lot of volatile substances. According to research, garlic itself is irritating. Eating too much garlic will inhibit gastric juice secretion, affect food digestion and absorption; it will also reduce hemoglobin and red blood cell counts, and aggravate anemia. Therefore, patients with iron deficiency anemia should not eat garlic.

5. Fruits and vegetables are not good for iron supplementation

Many people do not know that eating more vegetables and fruits is also beneficial for iron supplementation, because fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C, citric acid and malic acid. These organic substances can form complexes with iron, thereby increasing the solubility of iron in the intestines and facilitating iron absorption.

Understand these misunderstandings well and keep anemia away from our lives through daily lifestyle adjustments!

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