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Show Are You Anemic? By SHIRLEY BRIGHT BOODY "Registered Dietitian Many people are nutritionally nutri-tionally anemic and are unaware of it. AMERICANS like to think of themselves as well-fed and well-nourished people. Certainly Cer-tainly we have sufficient and abundant food supplies that no one should suffer from malnutrition because of a lack of food. There are various reasons for diet-related deficiencies to occur. Sometimes people simply consistently choose trie wrong foods, and eventually even-tually develop the problems. ANEMIA IS A fairly common com-mon nutritional deficiency that is due to a lack of enough iroa folic acid or vitamin B12 (cobalamin) that are either omitted from the diet, or if present, are not being properly utilized, and absorbed. ab-sorbed. Depletion of iron stored in the body is usually caused by blood losses. Menstruation and child-bearing in women may deplete iron stores. Men may lose blood from bleeding ulcers, hemorrhoids, surgery, early cancer or other medical problems. IN OLDER people, blood losses may occur because of certain drugs that are taken to help relieve arthritis. Almost Al-most all arthritic drugs can cause gastrc-intestinal blood losses. Whatever the causes of the depletion of the body's iron stores, the symptoms of fatigue, fa-tigue, weakness, dizziness, headache pallor and even chest pain are often present. Most people with iron-deficient iron-deficient anemia will respond well to ferrous (iron) sulfate, which is both well absorbed and inexpensive. IRON medications are usually best tolerated when taken with meals, if there is any gastrointestinal upset. If there is no upset, the iron medication is better absorbed if taken between meals. Foods high in iron should also be increased in the diet. Liver, beef, eggs, meats, cereals, fruits and vegetables will contribute iron. I HAVE mentioned this in many columns, and I will emphasize it again use iron cooking utensils to increase the iron content of the food. They should be uncoated cast iron, and they are inexpensive and easily available. Another kind of anemia occurs oc-curs when a person is unable to absorb and utilize the dietary die-tary vitamin B12 (cobalamin). It is called per-nicuous per-nicuous anemia, and the patient pa-tient usually lacks an intrin-v intrin-v sic factor secreted by the stomach that is needed to ab-. sorb vitamin B12. Supplying the missing factor, and adding ad-ding the vitamin B12 either by injection and-or supplemental medication, will usually correct the problem. FOLIC ACID deficiency produces a different kind of anemia, and was one of the most dangerous side effects of the liquid protein fad diet. It causes a magaloblastic anemia a lowering of serum red blood cells. Symptoms of anorexia (loss of appetite) diarrhea, sore tongue and mouth, can usually be helped by correcting correct-ing the diet to include organ meats, yeast and fresh green vegetables, which are rich in folic acid. Supplemental medication may also be ' necessary to alleviate the .symptoms. IT IS imperative to correctly distinguish between a folic acid deficiency and a vitamin B12 deficiency and the two anemias that they produce. Pernicuous anemia (lack of vitamin B12) inflicts severe damage on nerve tissues. tis-sues. Dear Shirley: What do you think of having a snack between meals? I don't want to gain weight. Mrs. M.B. Dear Mrs. M.B.: A controlled con-trolled snack between meals is fine. It picks up your energy and prevents excessive exces-sive hunger at the next meal. A small piece of cheese, a glass of non-fat milk or peanut butter on celery make excellent snacks. Dear Shirley: Can you recommend any food as a good laxative? Mr. J.L. Dear Mr. J.L. : Sprinkle two to four tablespoons of unprocessed bran on your salads, and drink at least one quart of water in addition to your other beverages. |
