Hands up if you’ve ever suffered from low energy, fatigue and easy bruising?
These can all be signs of what we call Blood Deficiency in Chinese Medicine. It doesn’t mean you don’t have enough blood but that the quality of your blood isn’t as good as it should be.
And that means your body (and especially your eggs and womb) probably aren’t getting the decent supply of rich, nourishing blood they need for successful implantation.
If someone is very blood deficient, tests might show they’re anaemic but not always.
Other symptoms include: –
- being forgetful and scatty
- feelings of anxiety and panic rising in your chest
- dizziness
- scant or no periods
- pale complexion
- pale and tooth marked tongue – sometimes with an orange tinge to the sides
- difficulty conceiving
- dry, flaky skin
- chapped lips
- brittle nails
- dry hair
As women, because we have monthly periods, we’re even more prone to Blood deficiency. Don’t we just have all the luck?! It’s also made worse by overworking and rushing around taking care of everyone else before ourselves like many of us tend to do. #guilty
It can be brought on in earlier stages by heavy periods, or a trauma such as an accident or miscarriage that lead to significant blood loss.
You can still be blood deficient even if you don’t have periods because you’re on contraception.
And if you’re TTC, you probably know that the endometrial (womb) lining needs to be at least 7mm thick for successful implantation to take place. But if your periods are really light then it may not be getting thick enough.
So how do you ‘build the blood’?
One way is to eat beetroot! Beets are the original blood building vegetable and are especially beneficial for people who are anaemic and have lower than normal iron levels.
If you are vegetarian or vegan, make sure to include them in your diet. You can get them pre-cooked in most supermarkets – lovely to add to salads in the summer or have hot with white sauce in winter!
Beets also promote healthy liver function, clear mucus and ease constipation.
Another key solution is REST. Tons of rest.
So if you need a reason to prioritise self-care and getting enough sleep, then this is it!
If you suspect you have ‘blood deficiency’ and want help to reverse it so you can conceive more easily, drop me a line and let’s see if my fertility programme is a good fit for you.
