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What is hemoglobin?
Hemoglobin is a protein located in red blood cells. It
carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and returns carbon dioxide from
there to the lungs.
Hemoglobin consists of four protein molecules, which
are interconnected. An interesting fact is, that the iron contained in
hemoglobin is the cause of its red color.
Hemoglobin plays a very important role in maintaining
the shape of red blood cells. In its natural form, red blood cells resemble a
donut, without a hole in the middle.
What is normal hemoglobin level?
Hemoglobin level is expressed as the amount of
hemoglobin in grams (gm) to deciliter (dl) of whole blood. (1 deciliter = 0.1
liters)
Normal hemoglobin depend on the age
and sex:
newborn children 17-22 gr / dL
babies one week of age - 15 to 20 gr / dL
babies one month of age- 11 -15 gr / dl
children -11-13 gr / dL
older men -14-18 gr / dL
older women - 12-16 gr / dL
men over middle age - from 12.4 to 14.9 gr / dL
women over middle age -from 11.7 to 13.8 gr / dL
In different blood laboratories these values may vary slightly. Some of
them do not make difference between the values for adults (men / women) and (men / women) middle age.
What does a low level of hemoglobin
mean?
The low level of hemoglobin is usually associated with
anemia,
or low red blood cells count.
Some of the main causes of anemia
are:
What does high hemoglobin mean?
Higher hemoglobin levels usually occur in people,
living at high altitude, and in smokers. Dehydration can produce false levels
of hemoglobin, but when fluid balance is restored properly, it returns to
normal levels.
Reasons for the high levels could
be:
When we have poor quality of
hemoglobin?
This happens when we have sickle cell anemia. This is
a genetic condition, which may lead to
unusual form of (sickled) red blood cells. These cells are difficult to pass
through narrow blood vessels, which can deprive organs of oxygen. Sickled cells
themselves, have a little life (10 to 20 days), and this can lead to premature
replacement of red blood cells, causing anemia.
The symptoms of this form of anemia can vary depending
on its severity. These may include:
How to improve hemoglobin levels
during pregnancy?
Question: I am pregnant since twelve weeks and my
hemoglobin was 8, how to increase it? What kind of food to include in my diet ?
The most common cause of anemia
in pregnancy is the lack of iron and folic acid. Even if the woman is not
anemic during pregnancy, she can develop it with the approaching birth. There
are certain risk factors for mothers who are anemic:
Naturally the concentration of iron in the body, is
regulated by the cells in the small
intestine, which changes the absorption of iron, in order to compensate losses
from the body. Iron deficiency is due to the reduced iron intake (from food),
and the excessive loss of iron from the body.
Blood loss (hemorrhage) is the most common cause of excessive loss of iron
from the body. Menstrual blood losses may vary considerably (10-250 ml), as the
loss of iron with any normal menstruation
is about 12-15 mg.
In some women it can reach up to 100 mg. Just these
factors double iron. The quantity "absorbed" iron from body is only
10% of the total amount consumed. For example, only 1 mg of iron is absorbed,
by every 10 to 20mg absorbed iron.
Normal diet should include 1.5 - 2 mg of iron per day,
to compensate for the loss in menstruation period. During pregnancy, the mother
needs extra amount of 500mg, baby and placenta also have a "need"
from another 500 mg. In this situation, an additional 3 mg of iron per day must
be obtained from diet.
The absorption of iron from the diet may be influenced
by many factors.
For example, the iron coming from animal sources, is
much more suitable for the absorption of the iron, coming from non-animal
sources (e.g., vegetables).
Vegetarians need more iron, because when it is
provided from plant products, its assimilation is more difficult, unlike animal
products. Vegetarians have to obtain the necessary iron from plants, which
contain it in larger doses:
The absorption of iron from animal sources (meat,
fish) can be improved by consumption of fruits and vegetables at the same time.
Treatment
The most inexpensive and effective therapy consists in
the adoption of iron tablets. Treatment should lasts about three months to
return to normal levels of hemoglobin.
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When We Have Poor Quality Of Hemoglobin? How To Improve Hemoglobin Levels During Pregnancy?
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