One of the main ways to combat anemia and diabetes is through nutrition and healthy eating. According to Salma M. AlDallala and Nirupama JenabOn, the prevalence of anemia is significantly greater in diabetic females (38.5%) than in diabetic males (21.6%) and in poorly controlled diabetics (33.46%) than those with glycemic status under control (27.9%). With eating the right foods, we can increase our iron intake and lower our blood sugar levels to help fight iron-deficiency anemia and diabetes. On January 30, 2021 at 6 PM EST, BEAT held its second expert panel featuring nutritionists Hannah Byrne and Brooke Mader! Our guest speakers presented their expertise and businesses while offering answers to questions ranging from diets that can help cure anemia and diabetes and to others about their education as nutritionists.
Hannah Byrne is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who completed her Bachelor of Science in Dietetics with a specialization in Health Promotion at Michigan State University and her Master of Science in Dietetics from D'Youville College. Her company, Hannah Byrne Nutrition LLC, helps a wide range of clients who are looking for nutritional counseling for many different medical conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, eating disorders, renal disease, weight management, gastrointestinal disorders, and more. During our expert panel, Hannah provided us with a list of foods that are high in folate, iron, and vitamin B-12. Folate and vitamin B-12 deficiency causes megaloblastic anemia where red blood cells are larger than normal, making patients tired and weak. (see list down below.) In addition, strict vegetarians or vegans are at high risk for vitamin B-12 deficiency because it is only provided from animal products.
Our second guest speaker, Brooke Mader, is a health coach and clinical nutritionist who has a Master’s Degree in Nutrition from Maryland University of Integrative Health and owns a company called Nutrition by Brooke that specializes in nutrition for people with Type 2 diabetes. Although diabetes and anemia are not directly related to each other, both deal with the blood in our bodies and can be cured with nutrition. According to Brooke, Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the way the body processes blood sugar or glucose and usually is when the body resists insulin. Insulin tries to move the blood sugar out of your body and into cells to provide energy to them, but diabetes prevents this process and keeps the blood sugar in your blood. After finding the factors that cause your diabetes, finding a personalized treatment and cutting out foods that cause problems are key parts of the recovery process.
In curing both anemia and diabetes, we need to remember that it's important to find out what is causing the disturbance in our bodies and to remember to use nutrition to make our bodies the healthiest version they can be.
We encourage you to view the recording of our expert panel!!
Expert panel recording - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1B23XNpHczq4KL15SXVDCM1Tn-lOERMix/view
Foods high in vitamin B-12 :
Meat
Poultry
Fish
Eggs
Milk
Milk products
Foods high in folate:
Enriched grain products
Dark-green leafy vegetables
Asparagus
Brussel sprouts
Avocados
Oranges
Beans
Peas
Nuts
Peanuts
Foods high in iron:
Beef
Chicken
Pork
Salmon
Fortified breakfast cereals
Spinach
Eggs
Wheat bran
Lima beans
Red kidney beans
Enriched white bread and white rice
Whole-wheat bread
Peanut butter
Contact information:
Hannah Byrne:
Website - https://www.hannahbyrnenutrition.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hannahbyrnenutrition
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hannahbyrnenutrition/
Brooke Mader:
Website - https://www.nutritionbybrooke.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nutritionbybrooke
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nutritionbybrooke/
Image Source -
Journal of hematology - https://www.thejh.org/index.php/jh/article/view/411/336