Iron deficiency anemia is an insidious killer of beauty and health

Anemia – this is a pathological condition of the body that develops due to a low content of hemoglobin and / or erythrocytes in the blood.

The causes of anemia are multiple, but in 80% of people suffering from this disease, the cause is a decrease in iron in the body. This anemia is called iron deficiency. Iron – the most important trace element in the human body, without which it is impossible to imagine the normal functioning of all its biological systems.

It is iron that is part of hemoglobin – an oxygen carrier protein found in red blood cells - erythrocytes. Iron is also an integral part of many enzymes involved in tissue respiration. Read the article estet-portal.com about the causes of the disease, as well as how anemia affects the appearance of the patient.

Causes of iron deficiency anemia, risk group patients

The most common causes of iron deficiency anemia are chronic bleeding (menstrual irregularities in the form of hypermenorrhea; blood loss from the gastrointestinal tract in gastric and duodenal ulcers, ulcerative colitis, colon polyps, hemorrhoids, etc.).

 

Iron deficiency can occur during pregnancy, lactation, adolescence and during heavy physical exertion, since during these periods there is an increased need for it in the body.

 

Another important cause of iron deficiency anemia is insufficient intake of iron from food (in vegetarians) or a violation of its absorption in the gastrointestinal tract  (with resections of the stomach, chronic gastroenteritis).

Loss of beauty – clinical manifestations of iron deficiency anemia

Since iron is part of hemoglobin, its deficiency is manifested by anemic syndrome, which is inherent in all types of anemia and develops as a result of a decrease in oxygen delivery from the lungs to tissues. It is manifested by general weakness, fatigue, tinnitus, dizziness, loss of consciousness, flies before the eyes, palpitations, shortness of breath.

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Iron is also a component of myoglobin – oxygen-binding protein in muscle tissue. Therefore, this variant of anemia is manifested by atrophy of the skeletal muscles and myocardium of the heart.

Sideropenic syndrome is more specific for iron deficiency anemia. It is caused by a decrease in the iron content in tissues and, as a result, a violation of the activity of enzymes involved in tissue respiration (catalase, peroxidase, cytochrome oxidase, etc.). This leads to disruption of energy metabolism, biosynthetic processes and, as a result, cell division.

Sideropenic syndrome is manifested by a perversion of taste and smell: a desire to eat chalk, earth, coal, an addiction to various unpleasant odors (gasoline, acetone, paints, varnish).

Because epithelial cells proliferate rapidly, iron deficiency anemia also manifests itself in lesions of the skin and its appendages. The skin becomes dry and prone to cracking. Characteristic angular stomatitis. Hair becomes dull, brittle, prone to falling out and graying.

What other factors lead to brittle and gray hair, you can read in the article How to prevent brittle and gray hair.

Nails exfoliate, become thinner, characteristic transverse striation, koilonychia appears.

Also, iron deficiency anemia is characterized by damage to the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract (sideropenic dysphagia), glossitis (pain in the tongue, its redness and smoothness of the papillae), decreased immunity.

Proper nutrition – not treatment, but prevention of iron deficiency anemia

To prevent the development of iron deficiency anemia, it is very important to have a proper, balanced diet and daily intake of sufficient amounts of iron with food.

Divalent iron is best absorbed from animal products (veal, beef, pork and beef liver). Iron is less absorbed from the liver, since it is mainly contained there in the form of ferritin, hemosiderin.

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There should also be adequate intake of B vitamins and vitamin C. B vitamins are essential for the proliferation of red blood cells in the bone marrow. Ascorbic acid helps the absorption of iron in the gastrointestinal tract.

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Iron from plant products is practically not absorbed.

 

It should be remembered that with the development of anemia, when the level of hemoglobin in the blood reaches 110 g / l or less, it is necessary to resort to drug therapy, since it is impossible to cure iron deficiency anemia by adjusting the diet!

 

With food, only 2 mg of iron is absorbed per day, no matter how much meat a person eats. And iron-containing preparations are 2 times more, so it is advisable to correctly prescribe drug therapy in time.

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