7 Tips to Improve Your Hemoglobin Levels Naturally!
Having low hemoglobin levels can cause varying degrees of discomfort and pain or even be life threatening for some. Your body needs hemoglobin to transport oxygen throughout the body to where it is needed, so not having enough could put you at risk of fatigue and weakness and prevent you from having a normal life. If you are looking for remedies for the problem that do not involve needles or medications, help is available.
Remember, correcting a low hemoglobin problem as soon as possible is very important as the symptoms go beyond fatigue or pale skin. Less efficient transport of oxygen through the blood and additional pumping pressure in your heart can cause irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias, enlargement of the heart or, in some cases, heart failure. Reason enough to justify an urgent action before it begins to adversely affect you. And the problem may be due to something as simple as not getting enough iron .
“Iron is a key component of your blood and is necessary to create healthy hemoglobin levels”.
If your hemoglobin count is below normal, here are some natural ways to solve the problem. Some of these can also support your conventional treatment. But if you are already taking medication, consult your doctor before starting any herbal remedy or stopping your treatment. If your problem is serious and has not yet been treated, you should first consult a doctor for diagnosis.
1. Eat Iron-Rich Foods to Help Hemoglobin Levels:
Increasing the consumption of iron through diet is beneficial because iron forms an important part of hemoglobin in the body. Because the mineral is not produced by the body, you need to consume at least 1.8 mg per day.
These are Some of the Foods you Should Consider to Increase Iron Intake:
- Spinach (cooked): 2.0-3.4 mg in half a cup
- Instant oatmeal (cooked): 4.5-6.6 mg in 175 ml (3/4 cup)
- Tomato puree: 2.4 mg in 125 ml
- Edamame (cooked): 1.9-2.4 mg in half a cup
- Prune juice: 1.6 mg in half a cup / 125 ml
- Duck: 1.8-7.4 mg in 75 g
- Beef (cooked, several cuts): 1.4-3.3 mg in 75 g
- Chicken liver, turkey, lamb (cooked): 6.2-9.7 mg in 75 g
- Octopus (cooked): 7.2 mg in 75 g
- Cooked oysters: 3.3-9.0 mg in 75 g
- Soy, ripe (cooked): 6.5 mg in 175 ml
- Lentils (cooked): 4.1-4.9 mg in 175 ml
- Beans (cooked): 2.6-4.9 mg in 175 ml
- Eggs: 1.2-1.8 mg in 2 large eggs
2. Improve Iron Absorption with Foods Rich in Vitamin C:
As iron consumption increases, you should know that your body absorbs only 10 to 30 percent of the mineral it consumes. Vitamin C can improve the amount of iron that you are able to absorb from your diet, so try to increase the intake of foods rich in this vitamin. Here are some options:
- Sweet raw red pepper: 95 mg in half a cup
- Orange juice: 95 mg in 3/4 cup
- Orange: 70 mg in 1 medium fruit
- Grapefruit juice: 70 mg in 3/4 cup
- Kiwi: 64 mg in 1 medium fruit
- Broccoli (cooked): 51 mg in half a cup
- Strawberries, fresh, sliced: 49 mg in half a cup
- Brussels sprouts (cooked): 48 mg in half a cup
- Tomato juice: 33 mg in 3/4 cup
3. Drink Wheatgrass Juice for Chlorophyll and its Anti-Anemic Factors:
If you feel like it, drinking wheatgrass juice can be a simple way to improve not only hemoglobin levels, but also platelet counts and red and white blood cells. Chlorophyll is found in abundance in wheatgrass and closely resembles the structure of hemoglobin molecules in the blood. Vitamin B12, folic acid and the iron it contains are all anti-anemic and can help improve your blood profile. As one study found, the consumption of agropiro grass could help raise the hemoglobin level to almost normal levels.
4. Take Indian Gooseberry to Treat Anemia and Raise Hemoglobin Levels:
It has been observed that Indian gooseberry or Emblica officinalis improves the hematological or blood profile of experimental animals, especially hemoglobin levels. This effect was observed in groups that received 250 mg / kg body weight of E. officinalis extract, as well as in those who had a higher dose of 500 mg / kg body weight. This property of Indian gooseberry or amla can explain its effectiveness against anemia in Ayurvedic remedies such as trifala powder. The dose will be prescribed by an Ayurvedic doctor depending on your medical history and condition.
5. Correct any Vitamin B6 Deficiency to Improve Hemoglobin Levels:
A deficiency of vitamin B6 can result in anemia and depressed hemoglobin synthesis. On the contrary, making sure you get enough could help avoid this problem or correct a decreased hemoglobin level related to the deficiency. The recommended daily intake of vitamin B6 is approximately 1.3 mg and the following vitamin-rich foods can help increase food intake:
- Chickpeas: 1 mg in 1 cup
- Cow liver (fried in pan): 0.9 mg in 85 gr
- Tuna (fresh, cooked): 0.9 mg in 85 gr
- Cooked salmon: 0.6 mg in 85 gr
- Potatoes (boiled): 0.4 mg in 1 cup
- Turkey, meat only (roasted): 0.4 mg in 85 gr
- Banana: 0.4 mg in 1 medium fruit
- Bulgur (cooked): 0.2 mg in 1 cup
6. Fix a B12 Deficiency to Increase Red Blood Cell Count and Hemoglobin:
As with a B6 deficiency, not receiving enough vitamin B12 can also cause anemia. In the absence of enough of this vitamin, your body struggles to create new red blood cells. And without enough red blood cells, your hemoglobin count also decreases. Get the recommended levels of 2.4 mcg for adults, 2.6 mcg if you are pregnant and 2.8 mcg if you are breastfeeding. Here are some foods that you could include in your meals to increase the dietary intake of the nutrient:
- Clams: 84 mcg in 85 gr
- Liver: 70.7 mcg in 85 gr
- Fortified cereal: 6 mcg in 1 cup
- Trout: 5.4 mcg in 85 gr
- Salmon: 4.9 mcg in 85 gr
- Natural Greek yogurt skim: 1.3 mcg in 170 gr
- Low fat milk: 1.2 mcg in 1 cup
- Egg: 0.6 mcg in 1 large egg
7. Exercise to Boost Blood Cell Formation:
When you exercise by doing resistance or aerobic exercises, this can help stimulate the formation of new blood cells, a process called hematopoiesis . And the more blood you have in your body, the more hemoglobin you will have too. There are some simple exercises you could do to raise hemoglobin levels after receiving your doctor’s approval. For example, a simple session of walking, swimming, dancing, cycling or jogging / running if you have the resistance to do so can help.