Eat right to avoid low hemoglobin

My company keeps organizing blood donation camp. I always make sure to participate if I am hale and healthy.

So, the other day, they came. I knew I would definitely participate but I was some what concerned. I was feeling tired from last few days and was avoiding to find the cause. Being tired for a week sometimes, is usual for me and then suddenly everything seems to be alright. I thought may be too much hectic office work, the sweaty Yoga, household chores could be the reasons for this.

I checked with the Medical Officer present at the camp and told her that I am practicing Yoga (little sweaty style) and feeling a little tired (Infact I was very tired but didnt want to sound like one). She advised me not to practice Yoga the next day and take rest.I was ok with the deal.

Next they measured my weight and then I sat at the counter where a person took a drop of blood from my finger and said that I can’t donate blood. I thought I heard something wrong.I asked him again and he confirmed that I couldn’t donate the blood as my hemoglobin was low. I was surprised.

I had always maintained a good hemoglobin count. So, many times, I had gone though the Hb count and it used to be around 13.5. Hearing a low hemoglobin count was not an exciting news.So, next thing I did was research the causes for low hemoglobin and how to increase it.

Facts regarding low hemoglobin and how to increase it.

1. The most common reason for low hemoglobin level is nutritional deficiency of iron, folic acid, vitamin C and vitamin B12.
2. This iron deficiency which is also called anemia can be corrected by including iron rich sources in the diet.
3. Symptoms like tiredness, weakness and lethargy are manifestations of very low Hb% and would need medical consultation.
4. One should eat green leafy vegetables like spinach (palak) and fenugreek leaves (methi), beans and lentils like masoor daal, chole, moong daal, toor daal, urad daal, rajma. In fact it covers all the lentils that are prepared at Indian home.
5. Iron is also found in red meat and fish.
6. One should increase the intake of dry fruits like badam(almonds),walnuts, dates.
7. Low hemoglobin can be due to deficiency of Vitamin C, in that case, eat fruits like papaya, kiwi, citrus fruits, grapefruits, strawberries.
8. Also, it is advised not to eat pizza, pasta, burgers, vadapavs, samosa, french fries.
9. Add dry herbs in your daily food like dhaniya (coriander), basil (tulsi).
10. Try to use jaggery instead of sugar.

In case, you also feel tired and fatigue just schedule a general health checkup with your doctor and know the correct reason.In case you are interested to know more about what to eat, follow here.