Hi fellow Thal Pals,
In the interest of sharing information about diet advice and nutritional supplements that Thalassemia patients can take to give them more energy and ensure a better quality of life, I will endeavour to regularly share information I have learned from seeing an Acupuncturist in recent months. In particular, I am constantly learning more about and trying to apply principles I have gained through following what’s known in Chinese Medicine as being a ‘Blood Deficiency diet’.
One thing I would definitely recommend is avoiding caffeine as much as possible, especially coffee. I found as I was getting older that I became less tolerant to coffee, so much so that I was only able to get through half a cup. Now I’ve stopped drinking it altogether. I have since learnt that coffee not only deprives the blood of oxygen, but it also makes the blood thick and sticky – not a good thing!
I am now starting to replace my daily coffee intake with either organic Chai tea (tea still has a little caffeine, but in much less quantities than coffee), or a cup of warm meat broth – the brand that was recommended to me is called “Best of the Bone”. Meat broth is meant to give you a much better energy boost to your day than coffee.
Another drink you might also like to try if meat broth is not your thing, or if you’re Vegetarian or Vegan, is a Mushroom broth. The brand that was recommended to me is called “Teelixir”. You can either buy the powder in a ready-made latte form, or you can just buy the powder and add it to soups, broths or to any drink for an energy boost.
Another benefit I have found since avoiding coffee, is that my sleep is a lot better at night. In addition, I no longer experience feelings of tiredness during the day or that 3pm “slump” feeling in the afternoon.
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I hope that’s useful. I will continue to share what I learn about foods and diet choices that can boost energy as I find out about them. As fatigue is one of the constant battles I have to deal with as a Thalassemia Minor patient, I am hoping to improve my quality of life and others like me as much as possible.
Cheers, Dalia