Healthy red blood cells are crucial for your overall health and body functions. Red blood cell deficiency is known as anemia which can develop in any person. Loss of blood can cause this condition. But there are some other conditions that can also cause blood deficiency.
Sometimes, your body is not able to produce enough red blood cells. It may also be caused by the destruction of red blood cells. The best hematologist shares that anemia is of different types but iron deficiency anemia is the most common blood deficiency condition. If you experience dizziness, fatigue, and other symptoms, make sure that you consult with an expert and get proper medical help.
Hemoglobin is a protein that is found in red blood cells. It is full of iron which is responsible for creating enough red blood cells that carry oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
Other conditions like lack of vitamin B-12 and folate can benefit your body and also help to make red blood cells. But you can get help from a healthy diet plan.
Let’s find out more about the foods that can deal with blood deficiency.
Foods for Anemia
If you have been diagnosed with anemia, it’s time to make changes to your diet plan. Foods that are rich in iron or other essential vitamins can help with red blood cells and hemoglobin production.
These foods also make it better for your body to absorb iron. Do you know that iron is of two types?
Well, it has two types: heme and nonheme.
Heme and Nonheme Iron
When it comes to getting the proper amount of heme iron, you can choose seafood, poultry, and meat. But they do not contain nonheme iron. These plant and fortified foods can provide your body with enough nonheme iron.
Let’s get into more detail about foods.
Meat and Poultry
Heme iron is crucial for the overall body. You can have all the meat and poultry you like. You can go with venison, red meat, and lamb as they provide the heme iron.
But you can increase iron absorption with some nonheme iron foods, such as vitamins rich fruits like citrus fruits, leafy greens, etc.
Seafood
Seafood is also popular for providing heme iron. You can have different options, like shrimp, crabs, clams, scallops, etc. A high amount of fish contains iron. People can also go with canned or fresh tuna, fresh or canned salmon, mackerel, fresh perch, etc.
These canned sardines are also rich in iron. When you eat iron-rich food, make sure that you do avoid the intake of calcium as it can reduce iron absorption.
Beans
People who do not want to eat poultry for iron can try beans. Yes, they are a good source of iron and also cost-effective. You can eat different types of beans, such as peas, lima beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, soybeans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas, etc.
Fortified Foods
There are many foods that are fortified. You can add these foods to your diet plan, and get enough iron amount to deal with blood deficiency problems. You can go with fortified ready-to-eat cereals, fortified orange juice, fortified pasta, food made from fortified cornmeal, foods that are made with refined flour like white bread, etc.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds are good sources of iron. You can have them on your regular diet. For example, you can make a salad and sprinkle nuts and seeds on them.
These beneficial seeds are hemp seeds, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, cashews, and sunflower seeds.
You can have both roasted and raw nuts as both contain a high amount of iron and can help your body recover from blood deficiency.
Liver
You may avoid eating organ meat but they are high in iron. When it comes to organ meat, you can have a liver. Yes, it is a beneficial meat part that can help to give your body a high amount of folate and iron. Some other types of organ meats may include the beef tongue, kidney, heart, etc.
Leafy Greens
Dark green ones are also the best way to get plenty of iron. You can get nonheme iron that you can get from different leafy greens, such as Swiss chard, kale, spinach, dandelion greens, collard greens, etc.
You can get a high amount of folate and iron. The other essential thing that you can get from leafy greens is oxalates. Yes, they are capable of binging with iron and also prevent nonheme iron absorption.
Final Thought
You can have leafy greens in your diet plan but do not rely on them properly. Make sure that you plan a proper diet plan. Here, you can get help from an expert. You can get more effective results if you combine exercise and other healthy lifestyle choices.