Don’t ignore these ‘symptoms’ of aging that put your brain at risk
Anemia is often said to be one of those silent curses of aging.
But don’t fall for that “just getting older” line, because ignoring this health problem (which can have a ridiculously simple solution) could prove to be a fatal mistake.
Anemia means you have low oxygen levels in your blood, and that can make you feel fatigued and headachy and cause shortness of breath.
As health conditions go, that might not seem to add up to an urgent code-red emergency, but new research has found that anemia can make a stroke much more likely to kill you.
It’s a cruel fact of life that older bodies just don’t absorb nutrients as well as young healthy ones do. And that’s one of the prime causes of anemia. Remember those old Geritol commercials that used to say “iron-poor blood?” But it’s not just iron. Vitamin deficiency in general can play a role, too.
Blood loss can be a source of anemia to a lesser degree, although it usually stems from more serious problems like ulcers, tumors, or post-surgical bleeding.
Whatever the cause, the reduced supply of oxygen to your brain is a ticking time bomb.
A few years ago I told you about research that linked uncontrolled anemia with a sharp increase in dementia risk. That alone would be enough reason to start a conversation with your doctor about getting a blood test that will spot the telltale low red blood count or a low hemoglobin level that signals anemia.
But a new study from the University of Aberdeen in the UK shows just how much of a beating your brain takes when it’s starved for oxygen.
Researchers looked at data collected on 8,000 victims of acute stroke with an average age of 77.
About one in four of these seniors had anemia, and — no surprise here — that just happens to parallel the estimate of anemia occurrence in U.S. seniors, which is about 25 percent.
The Aberdeen team found that the fortunate seniors in the study without anemia were much more likely to survive for more than a year beyond their stroke.
Anemia patients were not so lucky. Their risk of death in the year after an ischemic stroke was twice as high as their anemia-free counterparts. Those who suffered hemorrhagic stroke fared slightly better, but still were at a one-and-a-half times higher risk of dying.
Ischemic stroke, the most common kind, is caused by blood blockage to the brain. Artery leaks or ruptures cause hemorrhagic strokes.
In either case, obviously, the danger is extreme.
And you’ll never guess what makes it even more extreme. Iron deficiency not only causes anemia, it can also make your blood “sticky” and increase your risk of having a stroke in the first place.
The good news is that it’s fairly easy to boost your iron levels and erase most cases of anemia. But as I’ve told you previously, I do not recommend you take an iron supplement.
Dr. Allan Spreen warns that iron supplements trigger free radical formation because they don’t deliver iron encased within hemoglobin. To do that you’ll need to add some extra red meat, fish, pork, and poultry to your dinner plate.
Calf and chicken livers are also extremely nutrient dense and contain the highest iron levels. Liver also contains what’s called an “unidentified anti-fatigue” component that makes it a popular meal for athletes.
Be sure to top it all off with some vitamin C to help your body absorb the iron that will put your brain back in the safety zone.
And remember, when eating liver always be sure it’s from organically-raised animals.
Sources:
“Anemia may raise risk of death for stroke patients” Honor Whiteman, August 18, 2016, MNT, medicalnewstoday.com
