Anaemia is one of the major public health problems worldwide (acc. to World Health Organization). When we hear this, the first thing that comes to our mind is - what is anaemia ? We hear this term almost daily that someone known to us has anaemia. We advice them to take iron tablets, iron tonics, nutritious foods etc. Now let's discuss some facts about anaemia in short. Anaemia - is low haemoglobin level in the blood. This haemoglobin is present in our red blood cells. Each haemoglobin molecule is
composed of a 'haem' portion with a globin chain(protein). Iron is an
integral part of this 'haem'. Other factors that help in haemoglobin
synthesis are vitamin B12 and folic acid. Vitamin C is also important,
as it increases iron absorption from diet in the body. Haemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to rest of the body and to the tissues, where oxygen is utilised for various metabolic processes that provide energy and are necessary for our well-being. Our body can utilise the oxygen that we get from atmosphere, only when it is transported by haemoglobin to target tissues. Now if haemoglobin level is low, then oxygen carrying capacity of blood will decrease. The tissues will suffer from low oxygen availability, and the problems due to anaemia will arise.
The etiology for anaemia in India :
