How to Use Alternative Treatments for Anemia

Anemia is a condition in which the body's red blood cells are deficient or the oxygen-carrying pigment (hemoglobin) is insufficient. Body organs do not receive the oxygen they require to work at their best level when you have this disease. It may cause symptoms of fatigue, lightheadedness, paleness and weakness. Most people don’t know that when this ailment is allowed to progress it can become life-threatening. Anemia may be caused by low levels of iron in the blood, but it can also be caused by blood loss or onset of menopause. After a diagnosis is made, advice from your health care professional, including both conventional and alternative treatments, should be followed.

Instructions

• 1

  Take vitamin and mineral supplements. Check with your health care professional about adding supplements to your diet. Anemic patients are often deficient in iron. Those with pernicious anemia have a low level of vitamin B12 and/or folic acid. A combination of iron and vitamin C is best, as the vitamin C aids absorption of the iron.

• 2

  Add herbs to your daily intake of supplements. Because yellow dock has sufficient iron and it is absorbed readily, it is a good choice. Iron can also be found in burdock, dandelion and mint. Most of these herbs can be found in tea form. When they are taken with prescription iron, the absorption rate is increased.

• 3

  Eat iron-rich foods. Liver and spinach are high in iron. If you don’t care for cooked spinach, try adding some raw leaves to a salad each day. If you do not care for liver, add dried beans, nuts, shellfish, cheese, fish, eggs, beef and lamb to your diet to improve your iron intake.

• 4

  Drink juices rich in iron. Juice therapy may correct nutritional imbalances. Juice made from iron-rich beet greens and parsley and vitamin C-rich oranges, strawberries, peppers, kale and/or broccoli is ideal. You can get more nutritious food by juicing because you could never eat the same amount you can drink.

• 5

  Press on pressure points on your body. Acupressure is a traditional Chinese technique that comes from acupuncture and uses the same locations on the body, but instead of using thin needles, direct pressure is used. The spleen pressure point, just below the ankle bone on the outside of the foot, strengthens the blood and is helpful for anemia. Another beneficial pressure point is the stomach, to help with the absorption of nutrients. This point is at the front of the leg approximately an inch below the knee.