Role of Nutrition in Blood Donation: What to Eat Before Blood Donation

Blood is one of the most important things that helps a person live. About 4 to 6 litres of blood is present in an average human body depending upon the gender and structure of a person.Donating blood is a noble deed, it helps treat people with cancer, trauma, preterm infants, or organ transplants; furthermore, you’re also assisting with other ailments including kidney disease, bleeding disorders, and diabetes.

A healthy, well-balanced diet is encouraged, especially while donating blood. To make the most of your blood donation, here are some diet and activity recommendations both before and after you give blood.

This is a no-brainer, you need to prepare your body for blood donation. Here are some guidelines on what to eat and what not to eat before blood donation:

• Drink plenty of water –
  Drinking plenty of water before and after giving blood is essential since it helps to keep you hydrated. In approximately half of your blood, you have water. Before giving blood, it is advised to consume an extra two cups of water. Nonalcoholic drinks like juices, smoothies are equally acceptable.
• Eat Iron rich foods –
  Iron depletion is the well-known side-effect of blood donation. Whenever a person donates blood, iron stores are depleted from the body and anaemia develops as the number of blood donations increase.Iron is required for the production of new blood cells and haemoglobin that carries oxygen to the blood. Therefore, it is important to eat a well-balanced and nutritious diet with plenty of iron-rich food sources. Red meats, poultry, fish, and eggs, along with leafy green vegetables, sweet potatoes, peas, broccoli, string beans, and kale are some iron-rich products that you must include in your diet.
• Include Vitamin C in your snack/meal before donating the blood –
  Heme-iron is more effective in raising iron levels, while vitamin C aids in improved absorption of non-heme or plant-based iron. A great number of fruits provide your body with important amounts of vitamin C. This vitamin is found in higher amounts in some fruits, such as cantaloupe, citrus fruits, juices, mango, papaya, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, watermelon, tomatoes.
• Consume water soluble vitamins –
  Among the other water-soluble vitamins, vitamin B6, folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiencies are common. Such a vitamin deficiency can be prevented among frequent blood donors by regular multi-vitamin supplementation. However, ask your doctor before starting with any supplement.
• Eat a healthy snack –
  Eat a healthy and nutritious snack before blood donation. This will help to keep your blood glucose levels stable. Do not eat foods that are high in fat. This will increase the amount of fat in the blood and such a blood sample cannot be tested for the presence of infections. Hence, such blood samples will be rejected.
• Avoid Iron blockers –
  Certain food substances and nutrients interact with the absorption of iron. Make sure you do not consume such foods with iron-containing foods. Moreover, maintain a gap of 4 hours between iron-rich foods and anti-iron substances. Foods that reduce the absorption of iron in the body are:Calcium rich foods:Milk,Curd,Cottage cheese,Tea,Coffee,Chocolate and Red wine.

Over to You:
A substantial amount of studies show that donating blood will benefit both your physical and emotional wellbeing. To encourage individuals to give blood, World Blood Donor Day is observed every year on June 14th.