If you suffer from sickle-cell anemia, you are constantly on the look out for ways to optimize your health, in the fight to survive the disease. Some substances or food items are of great value in this fight; so good that they could be called legal doping for sickle-cell anemia.
It is already well-known that patients of sickle-cell anemia take folic acid regularly to stimulate blood production in the body, or antibiotics to treat infections, or anti-malarial drugs to prevent malaria if they live in malaria-infested areas.
The wide-ranging benefits of the following substances are less well-known:
1. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is also one of the substances many sicklers take every day in order to support the process of blood production. However, Vitamin C does much more.
Because of having had to fight off repeated infections throughout their lives and due to a weakened immune system, some sicklers may develop auto-immune diseases such as Hashimoto's disease, later in life. These acquired diseases complicate the already-difficult struggle against sickle-cell anemia.
According to the expert literature, Vitamin C is a great tool to strengthen the immune system so that it can fight not only common enemies such as cancer, but also interrupt or slow down the development or worsening of auto-immune diseases.
So, instead of taking Vitamin C in minimal amounts, fill up on Vitamin C, as found in citrus fruits, tomatoes, cranberries and other sources. It will strengthen your body to stave off co-morbid diseases common with advancing age.
2. Green Juices or Smoothies
Green Juices or Smoothies are not just trendy, they are also very healthy, also for sickle-cell anemia. Green juices and smoothies are prepared by putting fruit and raw green vegetables into a mixer, together with some fruit juice. They often include vegetable components such as kale, spinach or chard, in addition to fruit component such as apples, oranges or bananas.
Vegetables contain chlorophyll, whose chemical make up is very similar to haemoglobin.
I personally can vouch for the effectiveness of young barley juice, which can be procured in powder form. In my mid-thirties, I needed two hip-joint replacement operations, which I wanted to have done without blood transfusions.
Someone recommended barley juice. I was able to increase my HB by two full points in preparation for the operations, by daily drinking three glasses of powdered barley juice in plain water, in addition to the usual routine of taking folic acid, Vitamin C, a protein-rich diet and drinking a lot of fluid.
(Unfortunately, this procedure was never documented in the form of a case history.) This is not a general recommendation for any particular therapy; just an example to show how useful green juices can be.
3. Water and its Variations
Sicklers are told to drink a lot. This is necessary in order to increase their blood volume and to flush out the dead sickled red blood cells that block the veins and cause severe pain.
The best fluid to drink is plain water. In low-income countries, it may be the only possibility. Make sure the water is clean and boiled, at the very least. During a painful crisis, a mixture of salt and sugar (twice as much sugar as salt) in clean, boiled water is an effective re-hydration therapy.
In richer countries, or if one has more money, one may be tempted to add fruit juice to the water, but this may overwork the kidneys. Processed juices may contain chemicals that are disadvantageous for sicklers.
In short, drink as much plain water as possible. The next best alternative is water mixed with fresh fruit juice, but with a greater water component.
About The Author
Lamaro Schoenleber holds a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology. She is active as a therapist, researcher, lecturer, life coach and creative writer, although she has suffered all her life from severe sickle cell anemia. If you have enjoyed reading this article, you can read more from the author on her new blog The 11th Chromosome & 11,000 Other Things.
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