TITLE:
Perception of Anemic Women Instead of Herbal Medicine and Dietetics in Treatment of Nutritional Anemia
AUTHORS:
F. Ben Slama, S. Médini, N. Ben Mansour, R. Chamli, H. Aounallah-Skhiri, M. Hsairi, O. Belhadj
KEYWORDS:
Women, Iron Deficiency, Anemia, Herbal Therapy, Diets
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.5 No.11,
May
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: The iron deficiency anemia
is relatively common among young women in Tunisia. Phytotherapy has a place in
the treatment of this deficiency anemia. Objective: The objective of this work
is to describe the perception of anemic women vis-à-vis
the use of herbs and dietary and adapted through a survey in Greater Tunis.
Method: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 124 anemic women, recruited
from public health facilities in Greater Tunis. Results: The majority of women
surveyed (84.7%) had secondary or university education, 10.5% primary and 4.8%
were illiterate. Among the women surveyed, 93.5% received a replacement
iron-based medical treatment. Among the iron-rich foods, they are legumes that
were most appreciated by almost all respondents. While food sources of vitamin
B12 and folate were ignored by the majority of women (68%). Two out of three
women were unaware of the importance of meat products as the main source of
iron, vitamin B12 and folate. Almost half of the women had the habit of
consuming tea every day just after meals and they convict that increases the
amount of blood. The frequency of the use of traditional medicinal plants by
women surveyed in order to treat their anemia was 40%. These women were often
advised to use plants by other anemic women and traditional herbalists whose
skills in this area were acquired by experience and transmitted from father to
son without adequate scientific training. The plants most frequently used were
fenugreek, cumin, oregano, rosemary and parsley. Conclusion: These data clearly
found the need to intervene for better education of women and girls by the
establishment of a nutrition education program associated with other
environmental actions. If herbal keeps a place in iron deficiency anemia, the
practice of herbal medicine and the preparation of its remedies require the
acquisition of institutional competence within the public health authorities
whose training must be constantly updated.