Diet is of utmost importance in the treatment of anaemia. Refined foods like white bread, polished rice, sugar and desserts rob the body of the much-needed iron. Iron should always be taken in its natural organic form in food as the use of inorganic iron can prove hazardous. It may cause destruction of protective vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids, serious liver damage, miscarriage during pregnancy and delayed or premature birth in younger females.

The diet should be predominantly alkaline. The emphasis should be on raw fruits and vegetables which are rich in iron. Iron-rich vegetables are spinach, green onions, squash, carrots, ralishes, beets, celery, yams, tomatoes and potatoes (with jackets). Fruits which are rich in iron are bananas, apples, dark grapes, apricots, plums, raisins and strawberries. Bananas are particularly beneficial as they also contain, besides easily assimilable iron, folic acid and B 12, both of which are extremely useful in the treatment of anaemia.

Other iron-rich foods are whole wheat, brown rice, beans, soyabeans, sunflower seeds, crude blackstrap molasses, eggs and honey. Honey is also rich in copper which helps in iron absorption. The diet should also be adequate in proteins of high biological value such as milk, home-made cottage cheese and eggs.

Vitamin B12 is a must for preventing or curing anaemia. This vitamin is usually found in animal protein and especially in organic meats like kidney and liver. A heavy meat diet is often associated with a high haemoglobin and high red cell count, but it has its disadvantages. One cause of anaemia is intestinal putrefaction, which is primarily brought on by a high meat diet. Moreover, all meat are becoming increasingly dangerous due to widespread diseases in animal kingdom. There are, however, other equally good sources of Vitamin B12 such as dairy products, like milk, eggs, cheese and peanuts. Wheat germ and soyabean also contain some B12. Vegetarians should include adequate amount of milk, milk products and eggs in their diet.

Lettuce is another effective remedy for this disease. It contains considerable amount of iron and supplies a good form of vegetable haemoglobin. It can, therefore, be used as a good tonic food for anaemia. The iron obtained in this way is absorbed by the body to a much greater degree than the inorganic iron tonic.

The use of spinach is valuable in anaemia. It is a rich source of high grade iron. After its absorption in the system, the formation of haemoglobin and red blood cells takes place. It is thus beneficial in building up the blood and in the prevention and treatment of anaemia.

The anaemia person should commence the dietary treatment by an exclusive fresh fruit diet for about five days. During this period, he should take three meals of fresh juicy fruits at five hourly intervals. This maybe followed by fruit and milk diet for about 15 days. In this regimen, the meals are exactly the same as for all-fruit diet, but with milk added to each fruit meal. The patient may begin with one litre of milk the first day and increase by 250 ml daily upto two litres a day, depending on how the milk agrees. After the fruit and milk diet, the patient may gradually embark upon a well-balanced diet based on three basic food groups, namely (i) seeds, nuts and grains (ii) vegetables and (iii) fruits.