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How to combat iron deficiency anemia in case of prolonged menses?
A strong woman is her essence is the gift of the world. Womanhood is the best feature and essence of life. You need to be strong and healthy. It is not just taking off your skin body and hair but it is essential to take care of the internal health system. Menses or menstrual periods is the essence and the feature of womanhood. Just like a woman has feminine and sensitive features, long hair delicate feature and feminine voice being one of the features similarly menses is considered as a woman’s identity and her nature of entering from puberty to reproductive age. But many females go through this problem of iron deficiency anemia due to prolonged menses which is caused due to menorrhagia (irregular periods ) or dysmenorrhoea (painful periods ) due to fibroid, PCOS, or endometriosis. These are medical defined terms causing problems with the uterus and ovaries which are female reproductive organs. Prolonged menses is associated with iron deficiency anemia. Let us look into what exactly is iron deficiency anemia.
Iron deficiency anemia? What is it?
Iron deficiency is the most common form of anemia and usually results from blood loss. It can also be a result of malabsorption syndrome. Symptoms are usually non-specific. RBCs tend to be microcytic and hypochromic and iron stores are low as shown in low ferritin levels and low serum iron levels with high serum total iron-binding capacity. If a diagnosis is made occult blood loss should be suspected until proven. Treatment involves iron replacement and treatment of the cause of blood loss. Iron is distributed inactive metabolic acid and storage pools. Total body iron is about 3.5g in healthy men and 2.5 g in women, the difference relates to women’s smaller body size because of iron loss due to menses.
Iron absorption and etiology:
What is the science behind blood loss? Yes, iron is poorly absorbed. Because iron is poorly absorbed, dietary iron barely meets the daily requirement for most people. Even so, people who eat a typical western diet are unlikely to become iron deficient solely as a result of dietary deficiency.
Blood loss
It is the commonest cause of iron deficiency. In women and postmenopausal women, the most frequent cause is chronic occult bleeding usually from the GT tract (eg from the peptic ulcer disease . malignancy, hemorrhoids) in premenopausal women, cumulative menstrual blood loss meaning 0.5 mg iron /day is a common cause.
Intestinal bleeding due to hookworm infection is a common cause in developing countries.
Recurrent pulmonary hemorrhage.
Increase iron requirement.
It may contribute to iron deficiency. From birth to age 2 and during adolescence when rapid growth requires a large iron intake dietary iron is often inadequate. During pregnancy, the fetal iron requirement is present despite the absence of menses. Lactation also increases the iron requirement.
Decreased iron absorption
Decreased iron absorption can result from gastrectomy or malabsorption syndromes such as celiac disease, atrophic gastritis rarely absorption is decreased by dietary deprivation due to undernutrition
Hemoglobin: What is hemoglobin and how essential is it?
Hemoglobin is the protein in the red blood cells that carry oxygen to your body. It transports carbon dioxide back to your lungs to be exhaled. Iron is an important mineral and nutrient that is found in foods we eat, which when combines with certain proteins to becomes hemoglobin in your cells. The red blood cells are important as they carry oxygen from the lungs to the other parts of the body. Low iron levels may cause tiredness fatigue lethargic mood and extremely low levels that may cause damage to the other organs.
Signs and symptoms:
What should you look for in iron deficiency anemia?
The most common signs and symptoms of iron deficiency are due to anemia. such symptoms include fatigue loss of stamina, shortness of breath, weakness, dizziness, and pallor, Another common symptom is restless leg syndrome which is an unpleasant urge to move the legs during the period of inactivity.
Deformed nails: Let us choose iron supplements.
Koilonychia (concave nails): In addition to the unusual manifestation of anemia some uncommon symptoms occur in severe iron deficiency. Patients may have pica, an uncommon craving to eat substances. Other symptoms of severe deficiency include glossitis, cheilosis, and concave nails.
5 TOP FOODS high in iron to add to your food.
When it comes to getting enough vitamins and minerals you may focus on meeting your daily recommended values of calcium, potassium, and vitamin c. But what about eating enough iron-rich foods. Iron is an essential mineral that provides oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body tissues and muscles. It is necessary to human development and growth as well as functions of our cells and even some hormones
The best sources of iron are lean meats, chicken, and fish. there are however plenty of plant-based iron supplement foods. Here are the most delicious iron-based foods you can add to your daily meals.
Spinach
this dark green leafy vegetable are packed with iron. Your body absorbs the best source of plant iron with vitamin C so try adding fresh spinach to your food.
Pulses
Chickpeas, lentils, peas, beans, and more sometimes fall short of iron so these plant-based food are great sources of iron. Vegans and vegetarians sometimes fall short of iron so these plant-based food are a great source of iron. There are tons of ways to reap the benefits of pulses have them in soup add them to salads or scoops them up as hummus for crackers.
Quinoa
Unlike most grains, quinoa is high in protein and gluten-free which is why it is so popular. It is a great source of iron
Pumpkin seeds
Whether you add them to your morning toast or sprinkle them on top of salads you should consider adding pumpkin seeds to your diet. They are a great source of omega 3 fatty acid and magnesium which is another mineral that they are deficient in.
Fortified breakfast cereals can be packed with iron Opt for a fortified version to start for the day with a dose of iron. Check the nutrition label for the amount of iron per serving. Many varieties offer 90 – 100% of daily recommended value along with other vitamins and minerals such as fiber zinc and calcium
These are the top 5 foods to combat iron deficiency anemia and fight blood loss. Also, remember to take your iron supplement if your Haemoglobin count is very low and if you have been prescribed by the doctor.
TIP OF THE DAY
Some females cannot absorb iron despite taking an iron supplement. That’s true!!! Complement your supplement with vitamin C like lemon water or oranges or simply vitamin C chewable tablets which will help in proper and faster absorption of iron.
Useful resources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6006796/
- http://www.aoafamily.com/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-anemia-and-your-period/
- https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/iron-deficiency-anemia
- http://www.irondisorders.org/women
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1083318816302364
