Nutritional anemias

May 29, 2024

Health

NUTRITION, NUTRITIONAL ANEMIAS

The most important three nutrients needed to prevent nutritional anemias:

Iron
Vitamin B12
Folate

Diets rich in those nutrients are as follows:

Iron-rich foods:

Dark-green leafy vegetables, such as watercress and curly kale
Iron-fortified cereals or bread
Brown rice
Pulses and beans
Nuts and seeds
White and red meat
Fish
Tofu
Eggs
Dried fruit, such as dried apricots, prunes, and raisins

You should also try and include foods from all major food groups in your diet, to ensure it is healthy and well-balanced. In particular, you should try to include foods and drinks containing vitamin C, as vitamin C can help your body to absorb iron. However, high levels of some foods and drinks, as well as certain medicines, may make it harder for your body to absorb iron. These include:

Tea and coffee
Calcium, found in dairy products such as milk
Antacids and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are medications sometimes used to relieve indigestion
Wholegrain cereals – although wholegrains are a good source of iron themselves, they contain phytic acid, which can stop your body from absorbing iron from other foods and pills

Folic acid

Folic acid, known as folate in its natural form, is one of the B-group vitamins. Folic acid has several important functions. For example, it:

Works together with vitamin B12 to form healthy red blood cells
Helps reduce the risk of central nervous system defects such as spina bifida in unborn babies

A lack of folic acid could lead to folate deficiency anemia.