By Dr. Kathleen Regan, ND
The Quality of Blood
The quality of blood is paramount when it comes to the wellbeing of women and children. For women, because we menstruate, it is quite easy to lose the vital nutrient supply found in blood. For children who are still building their nutrient supply, it is an under diagnosed cause of fatigue, poor appetite, poor focus, low mood and even a sore stomach.
As a concept from Traditional Chinese Medicine, ‘Blood Deficiency’, involves so much more than iron deficiency. There is a team of blood building micro and macro nutrients that includes iron, folic acid, vitamin B12, copper, manganese, vitamin D, vitamin A and protein. Even water or hydration status plays a major role in the quality of blood.
Common symptoms of blood deficiency include fatigue, poor memory, difficulty falling sleeping, vivid or disruptive dreams, headache, palpitations, blurred vision, dry eyes, dry skin, paleness, depression, anxiety, dizziness, numbness/tingling of limbs, scanty periods, amenorrhea and infertility.
Iron deficiency is a common diagnosis and often reflects an underlying issue in the quality of blood. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, a person can be blood deficient without necessarily being iron deficient – it is just part of the picture.
However, a diagnosis of iron deficiency is often the way blood deficiency is discovered. Therefore, it is important to make dietary changes from this broader nutrient perspective.
Nutritional Concepts with Blood Building
Increase Protein. It should make up 20-30% of your daily energy intake.
Consume no less than 20% whole grains. Grains contain important elements that help with blood building.
Consume green leafy vegetables, seaweed and algae or chlorophyll rich foods. These ‘green foods’ contain iron and chlorophyll (the blood of plants) provides a chemical structure very similar to the heme found in blood.
The Author of Healing with Whole Foods, Paul Pitchford provides an excellent guide for consuming foods to build blood in his book. I have also found this link on Blood Nourishing Foods a most helpful guide.
Lifestyle Changes Make a Big Difference
Dietary habits include more than what you eat. They include the timing and amount of foods as well as how well you chew. Try to eat regular meals at a similar time each day, manage your portion sizes and stop before you are completely full.
Consumption of toxins makes it difficult to filter the blood and therefore strains the quality of blood. Reduce or eliminate toxins such as drugs and alcohol.
The blood is repaired and filtered at night, according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. Getting a deep sleep is important for building blood. Try to go to bed before 10pm or 11pm at the latest.
Stress, overwork and emotional imbalance can affect blood. The body becomes caught up in fight or flight and does not work on building blood. Find a daily practice to manage stress or an alternative outlet for your emotions.
Blood Building in Women - Consider Iron and Hormones
Iron deficiency symptoms can mimic hormone imbalances. Feeling weak, irritable, moody with scanty OR absent OR heavy menstruation can all be signs of hormone imbalance BUT these troublesome symptoms can quite commonly be related to low iron status. It is interesting to note that there is a back and forth between iron and hormones. Low iron has been shown to affect thyroid hormone expression while estrogen has been found to inhibit the transport and regulation of iron.
If you are experiencing the symptoms described above - check your ferritin (iron storage levels), check your thyroid and consider a hormone panel.
Blood Building in Children - Food, Mood and Tummy Aches
Low iron in children commonly shows as pale skin, low energy, poor appetite and often tummy aches. Actually, iron deficiency quite commonly causes tummy aches. It is very easy to assume that children are feeling depressed or anxious when they show these symptoms. If it is serious enough to ask you doctor, request a blood panel that includes a Complete Blood Count, Ferritin, B12 and Vitamin D if possible.
Children rely on their mother'‘s iron stores during development and on the iron stored in their liver for the first 6 months of life. But after that, they must build their own supply. Some picky eaters may not consume enough meat, greens or grains to build blood adequately. Fortified foods aren’t always well absorbed. Also, in the developing digestive system, sometimes stomach acid isn’t quite high enough to help the body extract iron and the gut bacteria isn’t quite diverse enough to help the body absorb iron. In these cases, an iron supplement alone might be ineffective. Digestive enzyme and probiotic support may be required. A greens powder can also go a long way to help replace nutrients not consumed through vegetables.
Functional Medicine Tip on Checking Iron Levels
A ‘normal’ iron level as described by your doctor may not be a sufficient level. Get your results and read them yourself. Consider the guidelines put out by the Ontario Association of Medical Laboratories and aim to see your iron over 50 (at a minimum).
Ferritin Levels (ug/L) Interpretation
<15 <12 (in children) - Diagnostic of iron deficiency
15-50 - Depletion of stored iron, probable iron deficiency
51-100 Reduced iron stores, possible iron deficiency
101- 300 Iron deficiency unlikely (in the absence of inflammation)