World Thalassemia Day 2022: 8 Dietary Tips By Expert For Thalassemia Major Patients

Thalassemia is an inherited disorder that occurs in the blood of that person. When a person has less hemoglobin than normal, then it could be considered as thalassemia. Hemoglobin is responsible for adequate amount of red blood cells in the body that causes fatigue due to anemia. As World Thalassemia Day is coming by, we at OnlyMyHealth decided to raise awareness about few important topics related to this inherited blood disorder. In case of mild thalassemia, you may not need proper treatment. But in case of severe Thalassemia, you might need blood transfusions as well. During this phase you need to take a healthy diet and exercise regularly in order to keep your blood levels normal. Today we will look at some dietary tips that could help thalassemia patients.  

Diet for Thalassemia  

We spoke to Ms. Neha Srivastava, Consultant and Dietician in Ivory Hospital, Greater Noida to help us with dietary tips that should be encourages in patients with thalassemia. She said that thalassemia patients should not be given too many iron rich foods as it may lead them to other problems. Nutrition plays an extremely important role to recover thalassemia patients and prevent them from adversities. Calcium is the most important mineral that is needed for the bones to sustain their strength and agility. Here are some foods that should be avoided by thalassemia patients- 

• Oyesters 
• Pork 
• Beans 
• Peanut butter 
• Tofu 
• Flour tortillas 
• Cream of wheat 
• Infant cereals 
• Watermelon 
• Prunes 
• Peas 
• Spinach 
• Broccoli  
• Raisins 
• Green leafy vegetables 

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Dietary tips for Thalassemia Patients 

1. Patients who are going through thalassemia must have vitamin D in their diet. Vitamin D helps in absorption of assimilation of calcium in the body. Best source of vitamin D could be called liver oil and soy milk. 

2. One of the best home remedies to cure thalassemia is to consume a very healthy and balanced diet. Balance of nutrients in the body helped to increase immunity. It also helps to prevent weakness and fatigue that are primary symptoms of thalassemmia.  

3. You should be careful about folic acid and the foods that have this in it. Folic acid rich foods helps to elevate the symptoms of thalassemia that could cause complication and severity. Food such as lentils, egg yolk, dried beans, sweet potato, whole grain bread, soy products, split peas, nuts, bananas and other such items should be avoided. 

4. Since calcium is a very important nutrient for thalassemia patient, you must take at least two glasses of milk every day to help in recovery. You can also take other dairy items such as cheese, yogurt and butter in your diet that could be beneficial for your health. 

5. Try to avoid junk food as much as possible. Patients that are following diet plan must be aware that junk food could interfere with the functionality of the body and make their bones more brittle and weaker. Carbonated and aerated drinks as well as gain foods are very harmful for the body, especially in case of thalassemia patients. Any food that has high account of preservatives should also be avoided. 

6. Try to add honey to your diet. Honey is a very effective natural remedy that could be very beneficial in this condition. Consuming a teaspoon of honey twice in a day elevates the symptoms of thalassemia and can control the blood disorder from getting worse. You may also mix honey with milk and consume it regularly.

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7. Ginger has lots of anti-inflammatory products that could relieve symptoms of Thalassemia. It has been used as an effective remedy that has been given to thalassemia patients for ages. Especially in ayurveda, it has been linked with significant improvement in blood related disorders. I think ginger to your diet could enhance your immunity and improve your chances of recovery. It could also improve your diet and appetite. 

8. You should also consider zinc supplement for thalassemia patients. There have been many studies that have linked zinc as supporting ingredient in recovering from blood disorder. In general, it could alleviate your metabolism and prevent reduction of immunity in the body. Some of the herbs that are rich in zinc content are rosehips, parsley, chickweed. Burdock root and dandelion.

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