Treating Anemia Naturally

Anemia is when you have a low number of red blood cells in your blood. Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body, when there is a lack of the cells the body finds it hard to function without enough oxygen.

Anemia is rarely a serious disease and can be treated with making a full recovery.

There are lots of different causes of anemia all varying in severity, here is a list of the few main causes.

Diet Lack of iron, vitamin b12 or folic acid in the diet can lead to anemia, they are all important in production of red blood cells.

Blood Loss Blood loss especially in menstruating women can cause a lack of red blood cells in the body. Blood loss can also be related to people with internal ulcers that bleed.

Hormones Erythropoietin is a hormone in the body which stimulates the bone marrow to produce red blood cells, when there is a low amount of this hormone there may not be enough red blood cells in the body.

Pregnancy The blood dilutes when you are pregnant, thus reducing the amount of red blood cells in your body. This often happens in the first 6 months of pregnancy but can carry on until a few months after the baby is born.

High Red Blood Cell Destruction this is when the body destroys its own red blood cells, this is often related to people with an enlarged or diseased spleen. The spleens job is to destroy old red blood cells, if the spleen is enlarged it may destroy too many resulting in not enough blood cells to function.

Aplastic Anemia is a condition children are born with where body lacks the ability to make enough red blood cells so blood transfusion may be necessary.

The symptoms of anemia are as follows:

• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Pale Skin
• Cold hands and Feet
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Shortness Of Breath
• Chest Pain

You heart may need to pump harder to get the blood around the body, mild to moderate anemia may have no symptoms at all. The only way to discover if you have anemia is by taking a blood test.

Severe anemia can cause heart problems and problems to other major organs as they do not get enough oxygen. It may also effect those with cancer or HIV/aids as it can weaken their treatment.

Treating anemia naturally is a great way to treat anemia without the use of drugs or medicine. Here are the best ways to treat anemia naturally at home.

Eat More Iron Eating foods rich in iron is essential to helping the production of red blood cells. Foods with high iron content are as follows liver, kidney, shrimps, pumpkin seeds, bran flakes, paprika, cashew nuts and dried figs.

Iron Supplements The lack of iron can be supplemented through tablets or injections into the blood stream. This will need to be done professionally.

More Vitamin B12 Including vitamin b12 in the diet can dramatically help, it is found in foods such as clams, liver, fish, beef and lamb. Vitamin b12 is mostly found in animal produce so vegetarian and vegans may need to take supplements instead.