If you ask the average Nigerian, what combination gives blood? There is every chance you will hear “Malt and Milk”, how this started, no one knows yet, but let us discuss this. Does it give blood or replenish your blood levels? What is the real truth behind this?
What a is low blood level?
Also known as anemia, this is a condition in which a person does not have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues, there are different causes of anemia or low blood levels, it can be acute or chronic.
There are some symptoms of anemia which are:
· Fatigue
· Weakness
· Pale skin
· Irregular heartbeats
· Shortness of breath
· Dizziness or lightheadedness
· Chest pain
· Cold hands and feet
· Headaches
These symptoms are also dependent on the cause of the anemia, but the one we will focus on is the inability of the bone marrow to produce enough blood cells to meet the body’s need.
Other causes are:
· Bleeding that causes you to lose red blood cells more quickly than they can be replaced, one example is a heavy period flow.
· Or your body destroys red blood cells faster than it can replace, the lifespan of a red blood cell is 120 days.
Now that we understand this. What are some of the things that can make a person get these low blood levels? There are some things that can increase your chances of getting a low blood level
· menstruation
· pregnancy and childbirth
· being born preterm
· being aged 1 to 2 years
· having a diet that is low in vitamins, mineral, and iron
· losing blood from surgery or injury
· long-term or serious illness, such as AIDs, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, heart failure, and liver disease
· family history of inherited anemias, such as sickle cell anemia
· intestinal disorders-affects absorption of nutrients
Let us focus on the diet cause, because that is where the issue is in this article
Iron, Folic and Vitamin B12 are very important nutrients that the body needs to make blood, when it does not have this, it produces little blood or weak cells that cannot last to say the least.
What does milk contain?
Each 100g of the average milk powder will contain: 28.3g of Fat of which 19g is “saturated fat” which is actually bad fat- bad fat is not good for your heart. Other contents are:
· 37.1g carbohydrates.
· 25g protein.
· 506 kilocalories of energy.
· And the rest are salt, vitamin A and D.
So, your milk contains mainly fats, carbohydrates and protein. Remember the nutrients we say that we need are Iron, Folic acid and Vitamin B12
Even your malt does not contain iron, any iron at all, so it is useless in getting blood. It will not boost your blood in anyway. It will just give you sugar and a lot of calories. If you think that your blood level might be low, you need to see a doctor and check it first of all, if low, your doctor will try to find out a cause. There are certain things that you might be missing if you stay home and try to boost it.
To stand a better chance, ugwu leaves contain Iron and this can help you a lot if you want to improve your blood levels. Remember to see your doctor as soon as possible if your blood levels are low. By the way, what is your blood group?