Are you feeling tired and dizzy? It could be down to a lack of red cells in your blood

What is it?
Anaemia is when you don’t have enough red cells in your blood. This means less oxygen gets taken to the tissues in the body. Approximately one in 10 women in the UK are anaemic, and so are one in 25 men. There are many causes, but the most common reason for anaemia in young people is a poor diet that is low in iron, vitamin B12, or folic acid. Blood loss from heavy periods is another reason.

Body evidence
Every cell in your body needs energy to do its job, which is obtained through oxygen. Oxygen enters the body via the lungs from where it is absorbed into the bloodstream. In the blood it is combined with a molecule called haemoglobin and then carried in red blood cells. This is a large molecule, mostly made up of protein with some iron in it. The oxygen weakly combines with the iron and is released when it gets to a part of the body where it is needed.
If there is less haemoglobin than is needed in the blood then a person is said to be anaemic.
If the body is short of oxygen, one of its responses will be for the kidney to produce a chemical called erythropoietin. This chemical tells the bone marrow to produce more red blood cells.

Signs and symptoms
Anaemia can cause you to feel any of the following: Tiredness, Dizziness, Palpitations, Breathlessness
If there is a sudden drop in the levels of haemoglobin in your blood, for instance, if you lose a lot of blood, you might notice that you tire more than you normally would and that you get out of breath quicker too. This is because when a healthy person gets out of breath, it is due to the fact that they cannot get enough oxygen into their body, so they breathe faster.
When you are anaemic, because your blood cannot carry as much oxygen, your heart and lungs have to work harder to get that oxygen to the places where you need it. This means you get out of breath faster than you normally would.

Why Might I Become Anaemic?
If someone has become anaemic, it is important to find out what is the cause. There are many different reasons; some are signs of serious illness and some are not. One of the first steps in finding out the causes of the anaemia is to find out what size the red blood cells are.
Some people only find out that they are anaemic when they have a blood test for another, initially unconnected, medical reason. This is because if you’re only slightly anaemic you might not feel any symptoms at all.

Iron Deficiency
If you aren’t eating enough iron in your diet then you can become anaemic. Iron is recycled in your body and you only need to eat a little (unless, of course, you are losing iron). If you are a woman, you will lose iron when you have your period, so a woman needs more iron in her diet than a man.

Vitamin B12
This is a vitamin that is essential for the functioning of red blood cells. It is found naturally in meat and dairy foods. In theory, vegans could become deficient in vitamin B12, but since it is added to many other foods as a supplement this very rarely happens. The most common cause of someone being deficient in vitamin B12 is if the body’s immune system attacks the cells in the stomach that absorb vitamin B12. This is

How do you treat anemia
That depends on the cause. If the anaemia is due to iron deficiency then you can take iron tablets which are available from any chemist. Of course, it is important to read the label if you are taking iron tablets as they can have nasty side effects. If someone is very anaemic, they might need a blood transfusion. If the anaemia is due to kidney failure then a drug called EPO can be given. This is a replacement for erythropoietin.

Natural help for anemia
A balanced diet containing foods such as red meat, liver, eggs, dried fruit, nuts, seeds and pulses will help. Supplements containing iron, B12 or folic acid may also be needed. Be reminded that Medical treatment may still be needed.