What should the elderly with anemia pay attention to in their diet?

　　In recent years, because anemia Came for medical treatment elderly More and more. Why are the elderly prone to anemia? Can correcting dietary habits prevent anemia?

　　There are many reasons for anemia in the elderly. For example, as age increases and the body ages, the hematopoietic function decreases. In addition, the elderly often suffer from peptic ulcers, cancer etc. disease , can also cause secondary anemia. Another reason that is easily overlooked is nutritional anemia in the elderly.

　　If the elderly have nutritional anemia, the anemia can be well corrected by analyzing and finding the cause. Through dietary supplements, the anemia can be well corrected.

　　iron deficiency

　　Iron deficiency is the main cause of nutritional anemia in the elderly.

　　The intake of iron decreases as age increases, the activity of the elderly decreases, the chewing and digestive functions of the oral teeth decline, and various factors cause the elderly's food intake to gradually decrease, and the daily food intake becomes more monotonous. If you do not pay attention to eating iron-rich foods, the amount of iron stored in the body will gradually decrease, leading to anemia.

　　Tips: Keep a variety of food varieties and pay attention to intake of iron-rich foods. For example, animal liver and kidney, animal blood, meat, etc., as well as kelp, seaweed, soybeans, black fungus, sesame paste, dates and other foods.

　　Absorbable Iron Intake Reduces Dietary iron is divided into two forms: heme iron and non-heme iron. The intestinal absorption rate of heme iron is as high as more than 20%, while non-heme iron must be converted into ferrous iron before it can be absorbed, and the absorption rate is only 1% to 5%. Nearly half of the iron in animal foods is heme iron. All the iron in plant foods is non-heme iron. The elderly generally consume less meat, fish, poultry and other foods in their diet, and consume relatively more plant foods. The phytic acid, oxalic acid and dietary fiber in plant foods will reduce the absorption and utilization of non-heme iron.

　　Tips: Eat meat, fish, and poultry appropriately to improve the body's absorption and utilization of heme iron.

　　Iron Absorption Disorder As age increases, the body's absorption and utilization rate of iron decreases, so that the iron taken into the body cannot be used better. For example, non-heme iron needs to be reduced to ferrous ions under the action of gastric acid, and then form complexes with vitamin C, certain sugars and amino acids in the intestinal contents to facilitate absorption. Many elderly people have reduced gastrointestinal function, atrophy of the gastric mucosa, reduced gastric acid secretion, or take antacids, which is not conducive to the release of non-heme iron and hinders iron absorption.

　　Tips: Eat more foods rich in vitamin C to promote iron absorption. Fresh vegetables and fruits, such as pears, dates, kiwis, tomato , oranges, hawthorns, green vegetables, bitter melon, peppers, etc., are all rich in vitamin C. In addition, vitamin B12 and folic acid in B vitamins are essential substances for red blood cell metabolism. Animal liver, kidney, lean meat and other foods are rich in B vitamins, and green leafy vegetables are rich in folic acid. You can also take in some acidic foods appropriately, such as plums, jujubes, pickled cucumbers, sauerkraut and other foods to increase gastric acidity.

　　Insufficient protein intake

　　Only iron without sufficient amino acids cannot synthesize hemoglobin. Therefore, iron alone does not prevent anemia. Because the elderly tend to restrict their diet and reduce the amount and type of food they consume, this will affect the absorption of nutrients, especially protein, resulting in low protein intake in quantity and quality, which can also cause anemia.

　　Rich protein is an important raw material that constitutes hemoglobin. Therefore, the elderly should ensure sufficient protein in their daily meals, such as lean meat, fish, eggs, soybeans and soy products.

　　Elderly people with nutritional anemia often have symptoms such as poor appetite and indigestion. Therefore, special attention should be paid to a diversified diet and the color, aroma, taste, and shape of cooking to stimulate the appetite of the elderly, which has a positive effect on preventing and treating anemia.

　　Don’t think of spinach as a good blood supplement

　　Many elderly people think that the iron content in spinach is relatively high, so they regard spinach as a good blood supplement.

　　In fact, this eating habit is not scientific. Because, although the iron content in spinach is high, the iron contained in spinach is difficult to be absorbed by the small intestine, and spinach also contains a substance called oxalic acid, which can easily react with iron to form a precipitate, making the iron unable to be utilized by the human body, thus losing the effect of treating anemia. At the same time, oxalic acid can easily combine with calcium to form insoluble calcium oxalate, which affects the body's absorption of calcium. It can be seen that regular and large intake of spinach will not only fail to enrich the blood, but will also affect the digestion and absorption of other substances.