Iron Deficiency Anaemia (IDA) is quite a common trend plaguing the world today. What happens, in this case, is that either the patient has fewer red blood cells than his buddies, or he has lesser hemoglobin present in each red blood cell. It’s pretty much the same conclusion, though – reduced oxygen supply being passed around in the blood stream.
Usually, a balanced diet that consists of the same old food, nothing extraordinary is enough to keep the iron levels up, but there are some causes that can bring down the levels and possibly lead to IDA.
The first & most common cause is heavy menstrual bleeding. Research shows that one in ten women will suffer from IDA because of this at some point. Heavy bleeding, when paired with a diet not substantially filled with iron is most likely to cause anaemia in women of all ages; no one’s safe unless you eat your spinach! Another common cause is Pregnancy.
A kid needs iron to grow and develop and it’s going to take whatever it needs from the mother. So all you pregnant ladies better start loading up on the iron supply! Besides these two, certain conditions of the gut such as coeliac disease lead to poor absorption of the food and in turn cause IDA. If an ulcer bursts in your gut or you’ve been vomiting or unwell for long, you should get it checked because believe us when we tell you, bleeding from the gut is another super common cause of developing Iron Deficiency Anaemia.
What you need to do to make sure that you don’t develop this disease is pretty simple actually. Stay healthy and keep doing whatever it is that you do, but don’t restrict your diet in terms of nutrition. Make sure to eat whatever is necessary and ensure a completely balanced diet that does not lack in any nutrients.
Researchers, over the years, have shown that restricted vegetarian diets and vegan diets are most prone to IDA. You don’t need to eat meat, but then better not shy away from the greens either! Another tip that we’ll give you is to eat food that helps in iron absorption. Vitamin C does this job best, so eat a lemon, oranges and other foods rich in citrus to avoid this plague. Also, don’t try to be your own doctor and self-medicate! Stay in touch with the doc and keep him updated.