untitled

minerals from the body. When two or more of these drugs are combined—especially in an older patient—
the risk of developing anemia rises almost exponentially. Anemia is a serious condition that can
dramatically increase mortality risk for patients with chronic health problems, such as heart disease and
cancer.
Many doctors and patients underestimate the risks associated with anemia. Anemia is a deficiency in
the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Hemoglobin (Hb) is the protein in red blood cells that picks up
and transports oxygen throughout the body. When this function of the blood becomes disturbed,
symptoms of weakness, fatigue, trouble concentrating, sexual dysfunction, shortness of breath, dizziness
and paleness of the skin are likely to develop.
Anemia can exacerbate the symptoms of underlying heart disease and may be a risk factor for frailty. If
you have been diagnosed with anemia, your doctor may have told you that you suffer from iron deficiency
and need to take iron supplements. The truth is, however, that the liver will limit the uptake of iron from
food to a level below normal only if there is an underlying condition that requires blood iron to be low.
For example, if the liver bile ducts are blocked and excessive iron cannot escape from the liver, the blood
iron levels could reach toxic concentrations and cause hemochromatosis, a condition that can destroy the
pancreas and liver. To prevent death, the body will try to absorb as little iron from the food as possible.
Another cause of iron-deficiency absorption would be the loss of red blood cells during chronic, low-level
gastrointestinal bleeding. Internal bleeding can result from prolonged aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-
inflammatory drug use, colon polyps, stomach ulcers, and gastrointestinal cancer. The most natural blood
iron loss (caused by the liver) occurs just before a woman’s menstrual period or during the last few weeks
before a mother gives birth to a baby. Since iron is a favorite food for destructive bacteria, by keeping
blood iron low, the body makes the blood (which is exposed to the air during the menstrual period and the
birthing process) unattractive to air-borne bacteria, thus preventing a possibly fatal blood infection. Since
medical approaches are not based on the knowledge and understanding of how the body responds to
internal and external challenges, most doctors settle for fixing the symptoms, totally disregarding their
underlying cause or wisdom, for that matter. In the case of anemia, prescribing iron tablets can actually
risk a patient’s life.
Anemia may also be caused by chronic inflammation, chronic infection, rheumatoid arthritis and
kidney disorders. Once again, treating these illnesses as separate diseases and applying suppressive drugs
instead of seeing the illness as the body’s appropriate response to an underlying threat, can have serious
consequences. As a society, we are now sicker than we have ever been before. We may live a little longer,
but with a lower quality of life.
The medical and pharmaceutical industries have managed to persuade the older generation that it needs
to take more drugs to stay alive and healthy. Accordingly, the average senior citizen now receives 25
prescriptions annually! But the wider variety of drug intake increases the chances of serious drug
interactions, while further robbing the patients of the very nutrients they need most when fighting an
illness. According to a recent study, this situation has escalated into a very serious problem: 20 percent of
all emergency room visits are made by senior citizens suffering drug-related side effects or interactions.
Another problem is overdosing on the medications. One 2002 study identified 2.2 million cases of seniors
taking more than the recommended dosages of their medications. The only solution to this problem is
assisting the elderly to deal with the root causes of their health problems, rather than encouraging them to
suppress the symptoms of their ailments.