Dietary Deficiency: Is There a Connection?
What is anemia and what is the cause of anemia? There are various types of anemia, but in general, anemia is a blood disease. First, let me explain the function of the blood and how it works. The blood has several main functions: 1) to carry oxygen from our lungs to tissues in our body; 2) to carry waste products from the foods we eat; 3) to regulate the ability to clot; 4) to regulate our body temperature; 5) to regulate the amount of water and electrolytes in our body; and 6) to protect us from harmful organisms through antibodies and our white blood cells.
There are 3 kinds of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. The red blood cells carry oxygen, white blood cells fight off infection, and platelets clot our blood. Aplastic anemia is when your body stops producing enough blood cells. If your body stops producing enough blood cells, then you are at risk of bleeding to death (hemopheliacs suffer from this) or you are at risk of getting diseases (AIDS patients are susceptible to this).
So what does diet have to do with any this? Well, although a healthy diet is the foundation of all things, Aplastic anemia, studies show that it can come from the following factors:
a) Radiation during chemotherapy
b) Exposure to toxic substances
c) Auto immune disorders
d) Certain medications
e) Pregnancy
Although the above factors seem to have nothing to do with diet, they are all indirectly related to poor dietary practices.
How Does Loss of Iron Increase Your Risk?
There are various types of anemia and therefore, various causes of anemia. Hemolytic anemia occurs when the red blood cells are destroyed before new ones can be reproduced. Doctors always first look for iron deficiency as a risk factor in patients when they are presented with anemia. There are various symptoms displayed when one has anemia, but more often than not, the most common symptom is fatigue.
The Function of Bone Marrow and Depletion of Cell Count
Another cause of anemia lies in the bone marrow. Bone marrow is responsible for reproducing new blood cells, but when someone has hemolytic anemia, the marrow cannot keep up with its production of new red blood cells with the rate of the premature destruction of the red blood cells. The depletion of cells jeopardizes the patient’s health.
Sickle Cell – What’s the Correlation?
Sickle cell anemia is caused by genetics. The cause of this type of anemia is inheritance. African Americans are often susceptible to sickle cell as they are in contracting tuberculosis (tb). Researchers don’t know why this is.
Normally our blood cells are round and they flow through the vessels of our body easily. Sickle cells are bean shaped, which doesn’t allow them to flow through the vessels. As a result, they get stuck in the vessel and these cells block blood from freely flowing to other parts of the body. The result is pain, serious infections and/or damage to the organs.
In sum, all types of anemia are serious. Although some types of anemia are rarer than others, such as Aplastic anemia, anemia is still a disease of the blood. Given the importance of the function of the blood, it is important that people schedule routine check ups with their physician, get plenty of iron, eat a healthy diet which includes plenty of fruit and vegetables, and exercise.
