Iron Mineral

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The problem is that many women don’t consume enough iron each day to make up for the 2.5 milligrams or so they lose each month during men­struation. Pregnant women need even more iron. Teens and women nearing menopause also often come up short.

Studies show that women ages 18 to 24 get about 10.7 milligrams a day, which is nowhere near the Daily Value of 18 milligrams.

An iron shortage leads to a reduction in hemoglobin, the iron-based pro­tein in red blood cells that lets these cells pick up

Iron Food Source

oxygen in the lungs and release it in tissues where oxygen is low. It’s simple enough; these cells simply can’t transport the oxygen you need. The cells even look pale under a microscope.

If you do have iron-deficiency anemia, your doctor will initially prescribe large amounts of iron—often 200 to 240 milligrams a day, usually in a form called ferrous sulfate. (Experts caution against taking this much iron with­out medical supervision.) Avoid using over-the-counter preparations such as enteritis-coated iron tablets or capsules containing slow-release granules, experts say. Both can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb the iron.

And make sure your doctor continues your treatment for a sufficient amount of time. Although your anemia will be corrected in 3 to 4 months, it takes an additional 6 to 12 months of therapy for your body’s iron stores to be replenished.

The large amount of iron used to correct anemia is not available through food, we still encourage women to eat more iron-containing foods. Even beef, a food often avoided since cholesterol became a bad word, is recommended to anemic women. It’s an unbeatable source of easily digested iron.

Anemia Symptoms

oxygen to all parts of the body. No matter what kind of anemia you have—and there are several vari­eties—the symptoms tend to be the same.

Along with being pale and fatigued, you can feel weak and short of breath, your heart rate may climb, and you may find it hard to concentrate.

These symptoms occur because without sufficient hemoglobin in the red blood cells, all parts of the body, including the brain, are starved for oxygen. Thus, the heart tries to compensate by pumping more blood more often, explains by professional nutritionist.

Anemia Food Source

Doctors can usually diagnose anemia by examining red blood cells under a microscope to determine their shape, size, and number and by doing tests that measure levels of different blood components.

“Even after we’ve determined the type of anemia, it’s important to figure out what’s causing it,” Doctor says. Everything from excessive bongo playing (the constant impact on the hands damages blood cells) to arctic temperatures and toxic drugs can cause the disease.

“Nutritional deficiencies are a fairly common cause of anemia, too,” Nutritionist says. In addition to iron deficiency, a shortage of folate (the natu­rally occurring form of folic acid) or vitamin B12 can be a culprit. Rarely, the problem turns out to be an inadequate supply of copper, riboflavin, or vita­mins A, B6, C, or E.