Many people's understanding of anemia is simply iron deficiency, requiring iron supplementation. However, to prevent anemia, in addition to iron, these nutrients are also essential.
The occurrence of anemia is sometimes not just due to iron deficiency; it is very likely related to a deficiency of these nutrients.
Protein: It is the main raw material for hemoglobin, and its deficiency can easily lead to anemia.
Vitamin A: Vitamin A and carotene can bind with iron in the intestines, maintain high solubility, and prevent the adverse effects of factors that inhibit iron absorption, such as oxalic acid, phytic acid, and polyphenols.
Vitamin C: It promotes iron absorption. Additionally, it can reduce inactive folic acid to active tetrahydrofolic acid, preventing megaloblastic anemia.
Vitamin E: In premature infants, vitamin levels in the plasma and tissues are very low at birth. Moreover, their digestive organs are immature, often leading to impaired vitamin E absorption, which can easily result in hemolytic anemia. Intramuscular injection of vitamin E can alleviate the symptoms.
Vitamin B1: It is a rare disease in infancy and childhood, characterized by megaloblastic anemia, accompanied by sensorineural deafness and diabetes. Cardiac abnormalities and optic atrophy may also occur, which is related to the intracellular thiamine deficiency state and thiamine pyrophosphate damage.
Vitamin B2: It can cause excessive mucosal reactions in the small intestine, reducing the number of intestinal villi while increasing their length, and increasing the transport speed of intestinal villus epithelial cells. These morphological and blood changes affect iron absorption in the intestines, leading to secondary iron deficiency and subsequent secondary anemia.
Vitamin B6: The synthesis of heme porphyrin precursors is inseparable from B6. Its deficiency can lead to microcytic anemia. Furthermore, insufficient intake of B6 can impair platelet function and the coagulation mechanism.
Folic acid: Folic acid deficiency obstructs DNA synthesis, hindering the maturation of red blood cells and reducing hemoglobin synthesis. Most red blood cells are destroyed before maturing in the bone marrow, causing anemia known as megaloblastic anemia.
Vitamin B12: It promotes the reduction of inactive folic acid to active tetrahydrofolic acid and facilitates the synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, which is beneficial for the development and maturation of red blood cells. If B12 is deficient, the development and maturation of red blood cells are hindered, leading to megaloblastic anemia.
Iron: It is closely related to the formation of hemoglobin. Its deficiency causes iron-deficiency anemia.
Calcium: Calcium deficiency can cause aplastic anemia. On one hand, a calcium-rich diet can reduce the impact of some oxalic acid and phytic acid on iron absorption, promoting iron absorption. On the other hand, calcium is a coagulation factor necessary for blood clotting, which can stop bleeding immediately and prevent blood loss and waste.
Copper: It can promote the formation of hemoglobin. Its deficiency produces abnormal red blood cells with a short lifespan. Copper deficiency causes a decrease in the activity of cytochrome c oxidase in mitochondria, preventing iron from combining with protoporphyrin to form heme, leading to anemia.