What is anemia?
Over 1.6 billion people worldwide are anemic. Anemia
is a condition by which red blood cells do not carry and deliver enough oxygen
to the rest of the body. This is either because there are not enough red blood
cells or because the red blood cells available do not function properly. The
four major types of anemias include iron-deficiency anemia, megaoloblastic
anemia, pernicious anemia and sickle cell anemia. Of these, the most common is
iron-deficiency anemia.
Iron-deficiency anemia is a condition that occurs when
there is a lack of iron in the body. Iron is essential to make hemoglobin, an
iron-rich protein, which binds to oxygen to carry and deliver it throughout the
body.
