Iron is a very important mineral for various biological functions, including the formation of hemoglobin. When there is a lack of iron, caused by a poor intake with food, by problems in absorption, by blood loss, the production of hemoglobin is poor and this leads to a lack of oxygen circulation through the body. It affects all age groups, mainly children, adolescents, women of childbearing age, pregnant and breastfeeding.
If you are often pale, you may have iron deficiency – here’s how to find out
Iron deficiency anemia occurs when the body does not have adequate iron levels to generate hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a protein found in red blood cells that binds to oxygen and carries it through the blood to power muscles, tissues and organs. The causes of the deficiency can be various: hemorrhages and bleeding.
Blood loss, even if not visible or internal, can involve a decrease in iron levels. This occurs frequently in women of childbearing age through menstruation. Bleeding can also be occult, slow and chronic, for example when blood loss is specific within the body, similar to a hiatus hernia, a colorectal polyp, a peptic ulcer, a tumor. Insufficient intake in nutrition. Anemia can originate from a diet in which the intake of it has drastically decreased.
This is a fairly rare condition, as a varied diet allows you to take the correct iron content, but it can be linked to eating disorders or too drastic diets. Poor absorption of it. In several cases there may be metabolic defects that do not allow the iron introduced with food to be sufficiently absorbed. This happens, for example, in the presence of chronic intestinal diseases, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease or celiac disease, in which damage to the intestinal villi impairs the ability to “extract” iron from food, diverticula, colon tumors and stomach.
Prevention is very important to avoid iron deficiency anemia. A varied diet must be followed, which involves foods full of iron such as red meat, pork, green leafy vegetables, nuts, chicken, seafood, beans. Here is therefore explained the pallor of the skin that may be due to this lack.