Is Your Diet Putting You at Risk of Anemia?
Do you feel constant fatigue you can’t explain?
Do you frequently get dizzy or lightheaded?
Do you suffer from chest pains or shortness of breath?
These are all signs that you may have ANEMIA.
What is Anemia?
Anemia is a condition where the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells to transport oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body. There are several types of anemia. Some, like sickle cell anemia, are hereditary, but others, specifically iron deficiency anemia, and vitamin deficiency anemia can be caused by an improper diet. For 20 years, doctors have seen a growing number of iron deficiency anemia cases in America. Iron deficiency anemia, the most common form of the condition, is caused by low levels of iron in the body. Your body needs this iron to produce hemoglobin, the protein that makes up red blood cells.
According to a recent study by the American Society for Nutrition, the rise in iron deficiency anemia coincides with a decrease in the amount of beef people are consuming. Between 1999 and 2018, Americans ate 15.3 percent less beef, an iron-rich protein, and 21.5 percent more chicken, thus not getting all the iron their bodies need.
As the name suggests, if you have vitamin deficiency anemia, your diet is deficient in the vitamins and minerals that your body needs to produce healthy red blood cells. According to the Mayo Clinic, you can develop vitamin deficiency anemia if you don’t eat enough foods containing folate, vitamin B-12, and vitamin C, or if your body has trouble absorbing and processing those nutrients.
Eating to Treat Anemia
If left untreated, anemia can cause serious health problems, such as having too little oxygen in your body, which can damage your organs. Having a diet consisting of the right foods is the first step to treating a deficiency.
Foods that can help prevent and treat iron deficiency anemia include:
- Beef and other red meat
- Dark, leafy greens like spinach
- Beans
- Seafood
- Iron-fortified cereal and pasta
Foods that can help prevent and treat vitamin deficiency anemia include:
- Fruits and leafy green vegetables
- Eggs
- Milk
- Broccoli
- Citrus fruits
How Do You Know If You Have Anemia?
Before you change your diet or start taking vitamin supplements, you need to make sure that the problem is anemia and not something else. The signs and symptoms of anemia may be subtle at first, so the best way to know for sure is with a simple blood test. You don’t need to wait for an appointment with your doctor in order to be tested for anemia. Any Lab Test Now offers a complete Anemia Panel for fast and accurate diagnosis.
We offer one simple blood panel that includes several tests, including a reticulocyte count to determine if your body is producing enough red blood cells. This can help determine not only if you have anemia but also the type of anemia you have. A ferritin test, that will screen your blood for the protein that indicates how much iron you have in your body. Your blood will also be checked for the levels of vitamin B-12, and folic acid to determine if you have vitamin deficiency anemia.
Where to Get Tested
Any Lab Test Now has 190+ locations nationwide, dedicated to providing you with the information about your body designed to help you Take Control of Your Health®.
You can schedule an appointment online or by phone, or walk-in for same-day testing. Each location is sanitized several times a day, in accordance with CDC protocols so you can be confident your lab work is being done in a safe, clean facility.
Any Lab Test Now is a committed partner in helping you manage your family’s healthcare. Click here to find an Any Lab Test Now location near you.
Is Your Iron Low?
Why It Can Be a Heavy Load to Carry
Iron. Depending on the person, it may conjure up a variety of images. Maybe you think of a structural material. Others may think of the dreaded household task of getting wrinkles out of clothes. But for more than three million people in the United States, a lack of iron in the blood is a major issue.
Iron is a mineral that helps our bodies function properly. It is part of our hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from our lungs to the rest of our bodies. Iron also helps our muscles store and use oxygen.
If your body doesn’t have enough iron, it can’t make enough of the oxygen-carrying red blood cells. When the body doesn’t get enough oxygen, fatigue results. This is one of the most common signs of iron deficiency, which is a leading cause of anemia. Anemia is a condition defined by a reduced amount of healthy oxygen carrying red blood cells.
Other Symptoms of Iron Deficiency
Shortness of Breath
Because it is hard for your body to get oxygen, it makes sense that low iron would cause shortness of breath, especially when exercising.
Pale Skin
Hemoglobin in the blood gives it that red color, which also puts a rosiness in some skin tones. When the hemoglobin is low, the red blood cells shrink and become smaller, taking away the healthy color or warmth in the skin. If you have a darker skin tone, pull down your lower eyelid. If it is a pale pink or yellow color, this may be a sign of anemia.
Chest Pain and/or Heart Palpitations
Because a loss of iron affects your red blood cell count, a shortage could cause your heart to work harder to deliver oxygen throughout the body — and cause you to develop heart palpitations, murmurs, or an enlarged heart. People could suffer a heart attack or stroke if they develop iron deficiency.
Dizziness
Again, because anemia prevents oxygen from getting to all the parts of your body as necessary, dizziness is your body telling you to relax and lie down to allow more oxygen to get to your brain.
Cold Extremities
Cold hands and feet are another sign of iron deficiency since your body is not sending as many red blood cells into those areas.
Swelling of the Tongue
Iron deficiency can also show up on your tongue and inside your mouth. Signs include painful swelling of the tongue, dry mouth, mouth ulcers, and painful cracks in the corners of your lips.
Brittle Nails
Anemia can also cause your nails to chip and crack easily. People with prolonged iron deficiency may develop koilonychia, which are spoon-shaped nails where the edges of the nail are raised and the middle of the nail dips down, forming the appearance of a spoon.
Who is at Risk?
Iron deficiency is very common, especially among women. In fact, almost 10 percent of women are iron deficient. Here are some groups at the highest risk for anemia:
- New moms and women who are breastfeeding
- Women who experience heavy menstrual periods
- People who suffer from celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, or Crohn’s disease
- People who have undergone weight loss surgery, such as bariatric or gastric bypass
- Vegetarians and vegans whose diets do not include iron-rich foods
- People who have undergone major surgery
Testing and Treatment
Any Lab Test Now® offers a comprehensive Anemia Panel to determine if you are iron deficient. You do not need to fast for this test, and you don’t need insurance or even an appointment to take advantage of Any Lab Test Now’s affordable lab testing. Test results generally take between 24 to 72 business hours, and customers can choose to have test results mailed, faxed, or pick them up at the testing location.
Once you get the results, you can work with your regular doctor to figure out the best course of treatment, which could include simple changes to your diet or supplements. In certain cases, an infusion of iron might be necessary.
Be at Ease
At Any Lab Test Now, we understand that people may have concerns about going to a healthcare facility during the coronavirus outbreak. You can be at ease knowing that we are providing you a safe and clean location for your lab work. Each of our 190+ stores are sanitized several times a day, in accordance with the CDC’s protocols. When you get your test results, you can easily make a telemedicine appointment with your physician and share the details. Any Lab Test Now is a committed partner in helping you to make educated healthcare decisions that can benefit your quality of life.
Find your closest Any Lab Test Now store at www.anylabtestnow.com.
Keeping Your Bottom Line Healthy With Any Lab Test Now!
Deciding to exercise is smart! So is choosing a salad over a hamburger or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. You are faced with dozens of choices every day, and many of them can affect your health. A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is just one of those choices. A Flexible Spending Account allows you to use your dollars (pre-tax!) to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses not covered by your insurance.
As the year starts to wind down, many people find they are left with a few dollars in their accounts and are faced with a “use it or lose it” situation. It’s your money; don’t let it go to waste! Any Lab Test Now offers you hundreds of ways to get the most from your FSA dollars, while you’re taking control of your health. Browse through our tests and you are bound to find something that can help you improve your health — and provide you with information that may not necessarily be covered by your usual annual physical. Here are a few ideas that can help you get started.
MMR TITER TESTING
After a certain age, you just sort of forget to worry about the measles, mumps, or rubella but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, “Not so fast!” The CDC is watching outbreaks in several jurisdictions and warning people (especially those traveling) to make sure they are protected! The MMR Titer measures your antibody levels and can provide you with a sense for whether your immune system has the ability to respond to an attack from one of these diseases. These latest measles outbreaks are no joke! According to the CDC, as of August of this year, 1,203 individual cases of measles have been confirmed. One hundred and twenty-four of those people were hospitalized, and 64 of them had complications! The MMR Titer is definitely money well spent!
FOOD SENSITIVITY AND INTOLERANCE TEST
Do you find that you seem to suffer from digestive problems now when you never had any problems in the past? Food intolerances develop later in life due to compromised digestive functions brought on by stress, alcohol intake and the use of NSAIDs. That means that foods you’ve been eating your whole life can begin to have a totally different effect on your body. The 50 Food Sensitivity and Intolerance Test can help you pinpoint what could otherwise be a “needle in a haystack” kind of situation. Remember, these aren’t allergic reactions! These are going to be much more subtle — bloating, fatigue, headaches, or weight gain.
ANEMIA PANEL
Fatigue and exhaustion seem to be states that we simply accept as a consequence of modern life, but we shouldn’t! Stress can cause fatigue for almost all of us, but should it be a way of life? You could actually be suffering from an undiagnosed medical condition like anemia. It’s estimated that approximately three million people in the United States suffer from anemia. Anemia is a condition where your red blood cell count is lower than normal. The lack of hemoglobin in your red blood cells can cause fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, and a number of other symptoms. Don’t just assume — know, with the Anemia Panel.
Any Lab Test, literally!
From nutritional testing to DNA results, Any Lab Test Now offers hundreds of high-quality and accurate tests that can help you answer many questions you might have about your health or your history! Don’t let your FSA dollars go to waste. You can walk into your convenient Any Lab Test Now location without an appointment and talk with our experts there and they can guide you to an appropriate test. Just like eating your vegetables, Any Lab Test Now is another smart health choice!
