Low Hematocrit (Read 2084 times)

There's always EPO. From what I understand Iron pills don't work very well. The thing about Iron is that you can get a ton of it in your diet very easily, but only a small fraction of it will be absorbed. There are two kinds of Iron. "Heme" and "Non-heme". All plants have Non-heme iron. Herbivores eat the plants, their body converts it into Heme iron in their blood. So when you eat the green veggies, you are eating non-heme iron. When you eat the cow, you are eating heme-iron. It's very difficult for the human body to make use of non-heme iron. Some people just don't have the blood pH to do it at all. Heme Iron is generally a much better source of iron than non-heme iron. Some vegetarians may have alternative ideas, but I think the best way to go is to eat some red meat every couple of days. It's also important to note that iron absorption is dependent on the presence of Vitamin C, and you need to make sure you are getting enough. Again, this is something that you would be better served getting from food rather than supplements. It is very common for runners, especially female runners, to become anemic.

It is very common for runners, especially female runners, to become anemic.

Yes. But not this anemic.

Are you sure it was your crit that was 6 (as versus your hemoglobin, which is equivalent to about a hematocrit of 18)? 6 is fairly inconsistent with life. Both 18 and 6 are low. I would at least go to the doc to get some blood testing done now. And maybe a test for blood in your stool.

Listen to Trent, I'm just some guy on the internet who reads WebMD magazine while in the doctors office.

swhitaker - It just depends on the cause. Again, 28 is very low and it implies that something may be very wrong. If it is the result of heavy menstrual bleeding, it can be easily cured through dietary changes and possibly going on the pill. If it is due to GI bleeding or leukemia or something like that, it ain't gonna go away from eating spinach. There is only one way to know why the crit is that low: get checked out. If the testing results are reassuring, good for you, you have not lost anything except a few bucks. If it shows serious illness, then you have begun the process of getting it taken care of. There is little to be gained and much to be lost by ignoring serious medical signs and hoping that they go away.

Understood. Just making sure that others reading this don't get the wrong idea.

Eat enough giant steaks, and you'll have back too.