Local celebrity Amor Vittone has been diagnosed with a severe iron deficiency. This, coupled with the fact she has low blood pressure and a spastic colon, is a very dangerous combination of ailments.
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We look at some facts on iron deficiency, how it is diagnosed and how it can be treated.
Signs of iron deficiency
Symptoms of iron deficiency can include a lack of concentration, repeated infections, loss of appetite, pallor, microcytic anaemia, brittle and ridged nails, poor academic performance, smooth, red tongue (glossitis), hair loss, sometimes a faster heartbeat and shortness of breath.
Causes of iron deficiency
Chronic blood loss can be caused by excessive menstruation, or be the result of bleeding into or from the gut as a result of a peptic ulcer, gastritis or haemorrhoids. In children, worm infestation is the most common cause of iron deficiency.
Iron deficiency can occur during pregnancy when the foetus’ demands for iron increase; and also in children when they go through growth spurts in infancy and adolescence.
Iron deficiency in turn, is the most common cause of anaemia.
Natural ways to combat it
The first step should be to engage in healthier eating habits such as a well-balanced diet that includes more iron-rich foods such as meat (especially organ meats such as liver and kidneys); fish; eggs (especially the yolk); cheese; and commercial breakfast cereals which are fortified with easily absorbable iron.
Often people with iron deficiencies are advised to include more Vitamin C in their diet, as this has been shown to improve iron absorption.
Leafy green vegetables are a must for folic acid, which assists in preventing anaemia. It can also be taken as a supplement.
Iron supplementation is also often advised, although all the above should be checked with a doctor first.
However, should a person have the opposite condition, an iron overload (haemochromatosis), they should avoid eating the above altogether.
Dangers of iron deficiency
Some reports suggest that iron deficiency can lead to a reprogramming of the metabolism of the entire cell and affect certain genes which play important roles in generating energy, aging, protecting the cell from free radicals and copying the cell's genetic code.
Studies also show that iron deficiency could play a role in brain-degrading diseases like Alzheimer's; if the human brain cells deprived of a key form of iron, called haeme, they could develop damage similar to that in cells with Alzheimer's.
Iron overload not ideal
On the other side of the spectrum, however, iron overload is also not an ideal situation. Often referred to as haemochromatosis, is an hereditary condition in which excessive absorption of iron from normal diets leads to the body being overloaded with iron.
Since the body cannot dispose of excess iron, it then accumulates in the liver, pancreas, heart and other organs and if this is untreated, it can lead to organ failure.
One solution for this is regular blood donation which will lower the iron content of the blood and prevent further iron deposits in the organs.
Who is at risk of iron overload?
Studies show that people with a family history of arthritis, diabetes, liver disease and heart failure are also potentially at risk of hereditary iron overload and should be tested to check if they are carriers.
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