I thought it was anemia, but it turned out to be cancer?

Aunt Zhao is 65 years old. A few months ago, she often felt weak and dizzy. She thought it was anemia, so she bought red dates to “supplement blood”. After making up for a month, the symptoms became more and more serious until he fainted and was beaten by his family for 120 and sent to the hospital.

I did an examination and found that I really had anemia, and the hemoglobin was 6 grams, only half of the normal person! But things are far from simple. Colonoscopy found that Aunt Zhao had a tumor in her intestines, and bowel cancer was the cause of Aunt Zhao’s anemia.

Anemia is encountered by many people, and most people only think about diet One, anemia may be a warning of cancer

Anemia refers to the reduction of the volume of red blood cells in the human peripheral blood, which is lower than The lower limit of normal, the inability of hemoglobin to transport enough oxygen to tissues, resulting in a clinical syndrome. Hemoglobin in the human body is mainly located in red blood cells, therefore, anemia is also called hypohemoglobinemia.

The manifestations of anemia will vary depending on the individual’s constitution and severity. Less severe anemia, which may not have any symptoms, but as the anemia worsens, there may beweakness, exhaustion, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, cold hands and feet strong> and other symptoms.

It is important to note that anemia is not One disease, but a common symptom of many diseases. So when anemia is diagnosed, the first thing to do is to understand why our body is anemia?

Ding Xiaoqing, Physician, Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine said that many elderly people will find that they are anemic during physical examination. I thought it was a “small problem”, just eat some blood-enriching food, but I don’t know that there are many reasons for senile anemia.

1. Malnutrition and physical decline

The elderly adopt inappropriate dietary restrictions, For example, a pure vegetarian diet has very low protein and fat intake. In addition, with the increase of age, the elderly will lose their teeth, atrophy their taste buds, and reduce their gastrointestinal function, which will also affect nutrient absorption, resulting in a lack of hematopoietic raw materials and insufficient production of red blood cells or hemoglobin.

2. Drug effects

Elderly people are often accompanied by hypertension, diabetes, Chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, need to rely on drugs to control the disease. Among them, antiplatelet drugs, about 2% of patients will cause anemia due to blood loss in the digestive tract after taking the drugs, and some bone marrow suppressive drugs may also cause anemia.

3. Effects of disease, including cancer

Chronic infection, rheumatic disease, kidney disease, malignant tumor, blood disease and other diseases can lead to anemia.

Some malignant tumors have no obvious symptoms, but anemia is the first manifestation. For example, tumors of the digestive system such as stomach cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, and esophageal cancer will directly affect the absorption of hematopoietic substances, resulting in anemia over time. 10%～40% of tumor patients may have anemia, especially gastric cancer, colon cancer, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, In lung cancer and ovarian cancer, the incidence of anemia can reach 50%～60%.

Second, what kind of anemia may be related to cancer?

Of course, not all anemias are necessarily caused by malignant tumors. To judge whether there is a malignant tumor, two conditions are generally needed:

1. The cause cannot be found, and it lasts for a long time

Chronic anemia patients are asymptomatic, and no cause can be identified; or the degree of anemia in the elderly Mild, less obvious symptoms, longer duration

2. Anemia with multiple symptoms

Anemia caused by esophageal cancer may be accompanied by dysphagia and vomiting after eating; anemia caused by colon cancer may be accompanied by blood in the stool and changes in bowel habits at the same time; anemia caused by gastric cancer, It is often accompanied by epigastric discomfort, nausea and vomiting.

Third, don’t only eat red dates for anemia!

When it comes to the topic of blood supplementation, many people would suggest using jujube to supplement blood. Can eating dates often treat anemia?

According to the “Chinese Food Composition Table”, the iron content of red dates is about 2.1mg/100g , only 1/6 of the iron content of dried cabbage, while the iron in plants is inorganic iron, absorption rate is only 1% – 5%, < /span>The absorption rate of iron in meat is as high as 20%~30%.

It is known that the iron requirement of an elderly person is about 15mg iron per day, and the elderly with anemia need more during the period of anemia. According to 100g of dried jujube, the highest absorption rate is 5%, 15÷2.1%÷5%=14285.71g=14.3kg, that is to say, an old man has to eat at least 14 kg of jujube Jujube can meet the iron supplementation.

Not to mention that the jujube itself is high in sugar, eating more may also induce diabetes.

Fourth, what should I really eat to replenish blood for anemia?

For iron-deficiency anemia, food supplementation can help relieve it. So which foods are really high in iron and easy to absorb?

1, red meat such as pork, beef, lamb, etc.

Red meat is rich in Hemoglobin iron, beef tenderloin about iron3.3mg/100g, lean pork iron3mg /100g, lamb hind leg contains iron2.7mg/100g. Red meat is a class 2A carcinogen, and the intake ratio needs to be controlled, and an average daily consumption of 40-75g is appropriate.

2. Animal livers

Animal livers are also high in iron, such as pigs Liver contains about 22.6mg/100g, chicken liver contains iron up to 12mg/100g , Foie Gras with Iron 7.8mg/100g. However, the liver contains high fat, so it is not advisable to eat more, about 20g each time.

3, animal blood

“Blood to replenish blood” really makes sense. The heme content of blood of various animals is relatively high, such as duck blood containing iron up to 30.5mg/100g, chicken blood containing iron up to 25mg/100g, pig blood containing iron8.7mg/100g .

4. Some vegetables and fruits

Black fungus and pine mushrooms in plants contain The iron content is very high, the iron content of black fungus can reach 97.4mg/100g, and the pine mushroom is about 86mg/100g. In addition, the mustard greens in vegetables are also high in iron, about 17.2 mg/100 grams.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are also rich in vitamin C, folic acid, etc., which can help the transformation and utilization of iron and prevent anemia.

Xiao Ai wants to remind everyone at the end that anemia cannot blindly replenish blood, the key is to find out etiology. Perfunctory work, it is likely to delay the diagnosis and treatment of primary diseases, which will have a huge impact on the body. To prevent anemia, the most important thing is to eat a balanced diet and ensure adequate nutrition.