Vitamins
Anaemia: The Vitamins That Can You Help Overcome Iron Deficiency
Date: 01/04/05
If you’re over the age of 60 and have been diagnosed with anaemia, don't dismiss it as a minor problem that a few iron tablets will sort out. Recent research has revealed that far from just making you feel tired, the condition can lead to an increased risk of disability and even be potentially fatal in elderly people if it is not properly addressed.
For example, a recent study found that elderly people with anaemia have much less strength in their hand and knee muscles, 70 per cent more disabilities and poorer physical performance than their peers without anaemia.
These results follow earlier findings by the same research team from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Centre in the US, which revealed that over 60 per cent of elderly people with anaemia experienced partial physical decline in terms of standing balance, walking speed and rising from a chair, while 30 per cent experienced substantial physical decline in these areas.
I dont want to be scaremongering but the researchers found that anaemic patients were twice as likely to die and 40 per cent more likely to be hospitalised compared with non-anaemic patients. In addition, individuals with anaemia had significantly longer hospital stays.
Iron supplements aren't always the best way to overcome deficiency
An iron deficiency, whether it causes anaemia or not, can dull your brain function no matter what your age. In a study of women aged between 18 and 35 at Pennsylvania State University, a staggering 73 per cent were found to be iron deficient and they scored significantly worse in a series of cognitive tests than women with good levels of iron.
Anaemia includes a range of disorders affecting your red blood cells, which contain haemoglobin the chemical that carries oxygen in your blood. To produce red blood cells, your body needs iron, vitamin B12 and folic acid. If one or more of these nutrients is deficient, anaemia will develop. If the level of red blood cells (and, therefore, of haemoglobin) in your blood is abnormally low, the oxygen-carrying capacity of your blood is reduced and the symptoms of anaemia develop.
These symptoms include a pale pallor, fatigue, lethargy, weakness, poor concentration, breathlessness, dizziness, palpitations, headaches, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), a sore mouth or tongue, and impaired immune function.
Anaemia can be caused by excessive blood loss, due, for instance, to a woman having heavy periods or to a bleeding peptic ulcer. Another cause is the too rapid breakdown of red blood cells in the body, usually due to hereditary conditions such as sickle-cell anaemia and thalassaemia blood disorders in which the haemoglobin is abnormal, causing red cells to malfunction. But the most common types of anaemia are due to a low production of red blood cells, caused by a lack of iron, vitamin B12 or folic acid.
Before you reach for the iron tablets try vitamin C instead
Although iron deficiency is the commonest cause of anaemia, taking iron supplements when you don’t need them can be dangerous, since iron is toxic in excess especially for children.
Iron deficiency is more likely to be due to the incomplete absorption of iron from food, due to a lack of hydrochloric acid secretion in the stomach, than to a lack of iron in the diet. Low stomach acid is a very common condition in the elderly. A supplement of betaine hydrochloride (300mg to 600mg before a protein meal) can boost acid production.
Vitamin C is also essential for the absorption of iron, especially the kind of iron found in plant foods such as nuts, seeds and beans (called non-haem iron). Taking a supplement of 1,000mg of vitamin C at each meal can effectively increase your iron intake.
Your doctor will probably prescribe an iron supplement if your blood tests show you are low in iron. But prescription iron tablets contain an inorganic form of iron that is not handled well by the body and may cause nausea, heartburn, bloating and constipation. Iron deficiency often responds well to just vitamin C and betaine hydrochloride, which increase absorption from food.
However, if your iron level is still low after using these supplements for a month, try a gentle form of iron, such as iron bisglycinate (50mg a day) or iron gluconate (e.g. Floradix, 4 tablets daily). Taking vitamin A (15,000iu a day) and iron together can overcome an iron deficiency more effectively than iron supplements alone. However, pregnant women should not take vitamin A.
What to do if a folic acid or vitamin B12 deficiency is causing your anaemia
As mentioned earlier, red blood cells need vitamin B12 and folic acid, as well as iron, to mature properly. A blood test will detect which nutrient is deficient.
If the problem is a vitamin B12 deficiency, this could be due to shortage of a protein called intrinsic factor, which is normally excreted by the stomach lining and is needed for the absorption of vitamin B12. People who have pernicious anaemia are unable to produce sufficient intrinsic factor. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also be caused by a strict vegan diet, since this vitamin is only present in animal foods (especially liver, which is where the body stores vitamin B12).
Unless you have been diagnosed with pernicious anaemia, including liver or kidneys (preferably organic), sardines and other oily fish in your diet will normally supply sufficient vitamin B12. If your diet doesnt include these foods, take a supplement of 200mcg of vitamin B12 a day. If you have pernicious anaemia, your doctor may prescribe injections of vitamin B12.
Folic acid deficiency has been described as the commonest nutritional deficiency in the western world. A recent study has revealed that folic acid levels diminish with age, with one in 20 over 65 year olds and one in 10 of the over 75s being deficient in it. Symptoms can include diarrhoea, depression and a red, swollen tongue.
If your anaemia is caused by a deficiency of this vitamin, take 1mg a day for up to a month, to replenish your body's stores, then 400mcg a day. Plus, eat more liver, asparagus, dried beans, dark green vegetables and whole grains, which are all rich sources of folic acid.
Vitamins - Related Reading:
Vitamin D Protects Against Infectious Diseases
The low down on the health benefits of vitamin C
Longevity: Discover two incredible anti-ageing nutrients
HOT TOPICS
Icelandic Volcanic Ash Poses Fluoride Contamination Risk
Sources:
Age and Ageing 2004; 33: 34-41
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1988; 48: 595-600
Ann. Nutr. Metab. 1990: 34: 32-6
J. Gerontol. 1969; 24: 95-6
Experimental Biology 2004, Abstract #3128, April 2004, select.biosis.org
J Amer Geriatrics Soc 2004; 52(5): 719-724
Physicians Weekly August 18, 2003 Vol. XX, No. 31
Back to topFor example, a recent study found that elderly people with anaemia have much less strength in their hand and knee muscles, 70 per cent more disabilities and poorer physical performance than their peers without anaemia.
These results follow earlier findings by the same research team from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Centre in the US, which revealed that over 60 per cent of elderly people with anaemia experienced partial physical decline in terms of standing balance, walking speed and rising from a chair, while 30 per cent experienced substantial physical decline in these areas.
I dont want to be scaremongering but the researchers found that anaemic patients were twice as likely to die and 40 per cent more likely to be hospitalised compared with non-anaemic patients. In addition, individuals with anaemia had significantly longer hospital stays.
Iron supplements aren't always the best way to overcome deficiency
An iron deficiency, whether it causes anaemia or not, can dull your brain function no matter what your age. In a study of women aged between 18 and 35 at Pennsylvania State University, a staggering 73 per cent were found to be iron deficient and they scored significantly worse in a series of cognitive tests than women with good levels of iron.
Anaemia includes a range of disorders affecting your red blood cells, which contain haemoglobin the chemical that carries oxygen in your blood. To produce red blood cells, your body needs iron, vitamin B12 and folic acid. If one or more of these nutrients is deficient, anaemia will develop. If the level of red blood cells (and, therefore, of haemoglobin) in your blood is abnormally low, the oxygen-carrying capacity of your blood is reduced and the symptoms of anaemia develop.
These symptoms include a pale pallor, fatigue, lethargy, weakness, poor concentration, breathlessness, dizziness, palpitations, headaches, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), a sore mouth or tongue, and impaired immune function.
Anaemia can be caused by excessive blood loss, due, for instance, to a woman having heavy periods or to a bleeding peptic ulcer. Another cause is the too rapid breakdown of red blood cells in the body, usually due to hereditary conditions such as sickle-cell anaemia and thalassaemia blood disorders in which the haemoglobin is abnormal, causing red cells to malfunction. But the most common types of anaemia are due to a low production of red blood cells, caused by a lack of iron, vitamin B12 or folic acid.
Before you reach for the iron tablets try vitamin C instead
Although iron deficiency is the commonest cause of anaemia, taking iron supplements when you don’t need them can be dangerous, since iron is toxic in excess especially for children.
Iron deficiency is more likely to be due to the incomplete absorption of iron from food, due to a lack of hydrochloric acid secretion in the stomach, than to a lack of iron in the diet. Low stomach acid is a very common condition in the elderly. A supplement of betaine hydrochloride (300mg to 600mg before a protein meal) can boost acid production.
Vitamin C is also essential for the absorption of iron, especially the kind of iron found in plant foods such as nuts, seeds and beans (called non-haem iron). Taking a supplement of 1,000mg of vitamin C at each meal can effectively increase your iron intake.
Your doctor will probably prescribe an iron supplement if your blood tests show you are low in iron. But prescription iron tablets contain an inorganic form of iron that is not handled well by the body and may cause nausea, heartburn, bloating and constipation. Iron deficiency often responds well to just vitamin C and betaine hydrochloride, which increase absorption from food.
However, if your iron level is still low after using these supplements for a month, try a gentle form of iron, such as iron bisglycinate (50mg a day) or iron gluconate (e.g. Floradix, 4 tablets daily). Taking vitamin A (15,000iu a day) and iron together can overcome an iron deficiency more effectively than iron supplements alone. However, pregnant women should not take vitamin A.
What to do if a folic acid or vitamin B12 deficiency is causing your anaemia
As mentioned earlier, red blood cells need vitamin B12 and folic acid, as well as iron, to mature properly. A blood test will detect which nutrient is deficient.
If the problem is a vitamin B12 deficiency, this could be due to shortage of a protein called intrinsic factor, which is normally excreted by the stomach lining and is needed for the absorption of vitamin B12. People who have pernicious anaemia are unable to produce sufficient intrinsic factor. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also be caused by a strict vegan diet, since this vitamin is only present in animal foods (especially liver, which is where the body stores vitamin B12).
Unless you have been diagnosed with pernicious anaemia, including liver or kidneys (preferably organic), sardines and other oily fish in your diet will normally supply sufficient vitamin B12. If your diet doesnt include these foods, take a supplement of 200mcg of vitamin B12 a day. If you have pernicious anaemia, your doctor may prescribe injections of vitamin B12.
Folic acid deficiency has been described as the commonest nutritional deficiency in the western world. A recent study has revealed that folic acid levels diminish with age, with one in 20 over 65 year olds and one in 10 of the over 75s being deficient in it. Symptoms can include diarrhoea, depression and a red, swollen tongue.
If your anaemia is caused by a deficiency of this vitamin, take 1mg a day for up to a month, to replenish your body's stores, then 400mcg a day. Plus, eat more liver, asparagus, dried beans, dark green vegetables and whole grains, which are all rich sources of folic acid.
Vitamins - Related Reading:
Vitamin D Protects Against Infectious Diseases
The low down on the health benefits of vitamin C
Longevity: Discover two incredible anti-ageing nutrients
HOT TOPICS
Icelandic Volcanic Ash Poses Fluoride Contamination Risk
Sources:
Age and Ageing 2004; 33: 34-41
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 1988; 48: 595-600
Ann. Nutr. Metab. 1990: 34: 32-6
J. Gerontol. 1969; 24: 95-6
Experimental Biology 2004, Abstract #3128, April 2004, select.biosis.org
J Amer Geriatrics Soc 2004; 52(5): 719-724
Physicians Weekly August 18, 2003 Vol. XX, No. 31
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