Q I have been unwell for the past year and my doctor says that the main problem is anaemia.
However my symptoms also include nausea, digestive problems, skin eruptions and itching.
Please could you advise me?
A Anemia literally means lack of blood. More precisely, it’s a problem with haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying pigment in the blood. It can be seen quite easily: someone with anaemia looks pale, with pale skin, lips and inner rims of the eyelids. Sufferers seem to have a degree of what you might call power failure, with symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, depression, a sinking feeling, blurred vision and frequent infections. They may also experience food and/ or sugar cravings, general sluggishness, cold hands and feet, and put on weight easily all connected to a poor metabolism.
Blood consists of blood cells and platelets, which swim in a colourless liquid called plasma. Red blood cells are the most abundant and also the most specialised cells in the body, as they transport oxygen and carbon dioxide; without them, the body simply can’t survive. White blood cells are part of our immune defences, and platelets enable the blood to clot.
The red blood cells contain haemoglobin, a powerful compound consisting of an iron-containing pigment called ‘heme’, and globulin, a protein.
Haemoglobin has a vital role in the supply of oxygen to the body, facilitating the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Heme also contains cobalt, a microelement that acts as a catalyst in the exchange of these gases. Meanwhile, the iron is responsible for binding oxygen molecules in the lungs and then releasing them to target cells.
Body cells only function optimally if there is enough oxygen and if carbon dioxide, a waste gas, is removed efficiently. If there aren’t enough red blood cells, or they are smaller in size, the haemoglobin’s capacity to supply oxygen is reduced. This oxygen starvation affects every system in the body, producing the symptoms above. Also, people with anaemia often suffer from breathlessness, due to the lack of oxygen, and palpitations, as the heart beats faster to try to improve the oxygen supply.
The most common type of anaemia is due to iron deficiency, which in my view is mainly due to lack of protein from a strict vegan or vegetarian diet, anorexia, as well as some kidney problems and burns, which destroy protein. A deficiency of vitamin B12, which forms the nucleus of the haemoglobin, folic acid or vitamin B6 can cause pernicious (megaloblastic) anaemia. There are other, rarer forms, including sickle-cell disease and thalassaemia (both inherited conditions), plus haemolytic and aplastic anaemia.
. Eat small, regular amounts of calves’ liver and red meat, fresh organic eggs (boiled, semi-boiled or poached), spinach, broccoli, cherries, aubergines, avocado, pomegranate, red apples, carrot juice. Take ten almonds and brazil nuts, soaked in still water for 24 hours, daily. These are all known to help blood synthesis in traditional medicine.
. To improve digestion: avoid citrus and sour foods (eg, orange, rhubarb, pineapples, kiwi, vinegar), chillis, deep-fried foods, unsoaked nuts and seeds, plus painkillers (unless you really have to take them); also yeast products, sugar and alcohol.
These are my suggestions Diet Because you have nausea and digestive problems, I suspect that your problem is iron-deficiency anaemia. (I assume that your GP has organised blood tests.) Iron is absorbed mainly in the stomach and any problems with its lining will affect absorption. Gastritis, stomach ulcers, acidity, eating too many acid foods, infections such as helicobacter pylori, drug- related gastritis (from steroids or painkillers, for example) and stomach surgery will reduce the stomach’s capacity to absorb iron. Parasites (worms) can also cause iron-deficiency anaemia.
Since you have both digestive and skin problems, you may have a yeast overgrowth or candidiasis. These conditions can be symptoms of a leaky gut, where the gut wall has been perforated by yeast overgrowth (or other factors), which then get into the bloodstream causing a host of problems. The itching and rashes may be because the body is trying to eliminate toxins through the skin.
I advise an all-round approach to treatment. If you just treat the anaemia, it won’t give you the results you hope for.
Remedies
. Take Higher Nature True Food Inorganic Iron tablets (Pounds 8.30 for 90), one daily for three months.
. Take two twigs kadu (TopOp, Pounds 3 for 50g) and one third teaspoonful kariatu powder (TopOp, Pounds 4.50 for 100g); soak in a cup of hot water overnight, strain and drink in the morning on an empty stomach.
. Take Alive Stomach Formula tablets (Pounds 12 for 120), one twice daily for two months to control excess stomach acid.
. Take Nutrispore tablets (Pounds 10.50 for 60), one daily for three months to control candida growth.
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