Anemia

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Anemia

If you’re like most people who beat up on the snooze button each morning, an earlier bedtime is the way to end your energy crisis. But if no amount of rest helps, it may not be sleep that your body is craving. You may have a form of anemia.

Anemia saps your energy by depriving your cells of oxygen. This happens when your blood has too few red blood cells or too little hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen through the bloodstream. Anemia can be a symptom of many different serious problems, including cancer. But millions of Americans suffer from iron deficiency anemia, which is less serious and is usually caused by blood loss from an injury, an ulcer, hemmorhoids, excess menstruation or the demands of pregnancy. According to the Recommended Dietary Allowances, women need 15 milligrams of iron a day, while men need 10.

And there’s another, less common form of anemia, nutritional deficiency anemia, that can be caused by a lack of folate and vitamin B₁₂. You’ll need to see your doctor to determine the cause of your anemia and the proper course of action.

The natural remedies in this chapter—in conjunction with medical care and used with your doctor’s approval—may provide some relief from iron deficiency and nutritional deficiency anemia, according to some health professionals.

See Your Medical Doctor When... You are unable to do your usual physical activities. You feel the blahs for more than five days. Your skin is pale and you feel weak, tired and out of breath. Your tongue is slick or smooth. You experience fatigue upon exertion. Your skin is jaundiced. You have bleeding under your skin and you bruise in response to the slightest trauma.

Ayurveda

Add up to one teaspoon of turmeric to a cup of plain yogurt, says Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He says to eat this mixture on an empty stomach in the morning or afternoon but not after sunset. Do this daily until symptoms subside, he advises.

Food Therapy

Anemia can result from an iron deficiency or from a deficiency of vitamin B₁₂ and folate, says Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and president of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. “The first thing you have to do is determine which form of anemia you have.”

After you’ve seen your doctor for an initial diagnosis, Dr. Whitaker says to eat more of the foods rich in the nutrients you need. Dark green leafy vegetables are good sources of absorbable iron, says Dr. Whitaker. He also recommends salmon and mackerel as good sources of vitamin B₁₂ and black-eyed peas, beans and lentils for folate. (For more good food sources of these nutrients, see “Getting What You Need” on page 142.)

Juice Therapy

Juices can help correct nutritional imbalances that lead to anemia, says Cherie Calbom, M.S., a certified nutritionist in Kirkland, Washington, and co-author of Juicing for Life. Focus on vegetables high in iron, such as parsley and beet greens, says Calbom. She recommends blending these iron-rich juices with juices high in vitamin C for maximum iron absorption. “Broccoli, kale and parsley work just as well as the more familiar sources of vitamin C, such as peppers, strawberries and citrus,” says Calbom.

Juicing also aids against folate deficiency anemia, adds Calbom. “I tell people with this problem to include asparagus, spinach or kale in their daily juicing.”

For information on juicing techniques, see page 93.

Reflexology

When working on your hands or feet, focus on the spleen and liver reflex points, says St. Petersburg, Florida, reflexologist Dwight Byers, author of Better Health with Foot Reflexology.

To help you locate these points, consult the hand and foot reflex charts beginning on page 582. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

Vitamin and Mineral Therapy

For nutritional deficiency anemia, take one milligram of vitamin B₁₂ and 400 micrograms of folic acid daily, advises Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and president of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. For iron deficiency anemia, he says that any multivitamin/mineral supplement containing iron can help.