Got enough iron?

If you feel exhausted all day long for no apparent reason, if your face and palms look as pale as a character in a vampire movie, if you often feel faint, lightheaded and dizzy, especially while working out or climbing stairs - you probably are anaemic. 

The signs of iron deficiency anaemia, the most common type of anemia, can often be so mild and vague that it often goes unnoticed. In fact, most people don't really realise that they suffer from mild anaemia until they get a blood test. 

"Iron is an important mineral that we need. So if we lack it, our body can't make enough healthy red blood cells that help carrying haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is an iron-rich protein that delivers oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body's tissues," says Tamanna Chowdhury, Principal Dietician, Department of Dietetics, Apollo Hospitals Dhaka.

Having headaches more often or trouble concentrating and remembering things, numbness or a tingling feeling in your hand and feet - these signs too could signal anaemia. Experts believe that it's always a good idea to know the symptoms of iron-deficiency anaemia, especially since they can often take time to develop. While the condition is very common in our country, especially among women, a lot of people don't even realise that they have iron deficiency anemia. Many of them experience the symptoms for years without ever knowing the cause.

Who can get anaemia? It can occur in both men and women of any age. But some groups like women of childbearing age, pregnant women, people with poor diet, people who frequently donate blood or vegetarians who don't take enough iron-rich food are at greater risk for iron deficiency anaemia. 

"In women of childbearing age, heavy menstrual bleeding and blood loss during childbirth are the most common causes of iron deficiency. Even though it is a common condition during pregnancy, if left untreated, women might end up giving birth to premature and low birth weight babies. In our country, women in particular make up the majority of those afflicted by this ailment. In Bangladeshi households, it's often seen that female members have their food after everyone is fed, so in most cases they have a poor diet in their share. They lack different important minerals in them."

Diets that are rich with iron can help treat or prevent iron deficiency. There are two kinds of dietary iron, heme and nonheme. Heme iron, found only in meat, fish and poultry, is much better absorbed than the nonheme iron found in vegetables, fortified foods and supplements. 

Some of the excellent sources of iron rich foods containing Heme Iron are liver, oysters, mussels and some good sources are beef, shrimp, sardines and turkey. On the other hand, some iron rich foods containing Non-Heme Iron are enriched breakfast cereals, cooked beans and lentils, pumpkin seeds, blackstrap molasses and good sources are canned beans, baked potato with skin, enriched pasta and canned asparagus.

While some food items like meat, fish, poultry, fruits like orange, strawberries and vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green and red peppers can help iron absorption enhance. Again some food-like coffee and tea, vegetables like spinach, chard, beet greens can inhibit or interfere in iron absorption. During times of rapid growth and overall body's development, pregnant women and young children may need even more iron-rich foods in their diet.

Depending on your condition, your doctor may also recommend a daily multivitamin and an iron supplement. "But before having any supplements, it's important to talk to your doctor," Tamanna says. "Taking excessive amounts of supplemental iron will end up causing iron overload that can damage internal organs and may increase the risk of diabetes, heart attack and cancer, particularly in older people."

As Tamanna says, if you think you have the symptoms of iron-deficiency anaemia, go see your doctor immediately and find out the root cause of it. Because other than knowing you have it and treating it accordingly, it is also important to know why you have it.