Hi carlee2005,
The short answer is not really. Red blood cells are implicated in
anemias, while white blood cells are our protectors against germs.
There are many different kinds of anemias however. I'll assume you are
referring to the garden variety kind of anemia that many women
experience at some point. A normal hemoglobin for an adult female is
12-15 grams; different labs have their own normal ranges-this is a
ballpark figure.
The function of red blood cells (RBC) is to carry hemoglobin, which
contains iron, throughout the body. The hemoglobin rich red blood cell
carries oxygen to the tissues. If a person has too few red
cells,usually due to excessive blood loss, as in menstruation,
tissues don't receive enough oxygen, making us feel tired, and have
difficulty breathing. Alternatively, one can have enough red cells,
but they may not contain enough hemoglobin to function properly - in
this case, usually due to an iron-poor diet.
"Red blood cells (also called erythrocytes, pronounced:
ih-rith-ruh-sytes) are shaped like slightly indented, flattened disks.
Red blood cells contain an iron-rich protein called hemoglobin
(pronounced: hee-muh-glow-bun). Blood gets its bright red color when
hemoglobin in red blood cells picks up oxygen in the lungs. As the
blood travels through the body, the hemoglobin releases oxygen to the
tissues. The body contains more red blood cells than any other type of
cell, and each red blood cell has a life span of about 4 months. Each
day, the body produces new red blood cells to replace those that die
or are lost from the body."
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body_basics/blood.html
Here is an illustration of hemoglobin-poor red blood cells. Notice how
the inside of the cell is pale.
http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/courses/path/innes/images/rcdjpegs/rcdhypomicrotargetb.JPEG
Here are normal RBCs. Notice how full they are!
http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/courses/path/innes/images/nhjpeg/nh%20pb%20normal%20rbcs%20x100a.jpeg
Cancer patients on chemotherapy may experience flu-like symptoms from
the medicine, but this is not actually the flu, and is probably not
your case.
http://patient.cancerconsultants.com/supportive_treatment.aspx?id=23140
If you are experiencing repeated bouts of flu, it may be from a
weakened immune system. This may be from stress, exhaustion, improper
diet and a variety of other causes.
" Give your child's immune system a boost by including lots of yogurt
that contains live active cultures of Lactobacillus Bulgaricus and
Strepococcus thermophilus. Some other specific foods to include are
garlic, foods high in zinc such as oysters, pot roast, dark meat
turkey and pumpkin and squash seeds (or make sure her multi vitamin
contains zinc), and shitake mushrooms. These mushrooms may not be to
appealing to your daughter, so try pureeing them to add to spaghetti
sauce, or chop them fine and add to a meatloaf. Other immune boosting
foods are fruits and vegetables. They may not increase her white cell
count, but they will make the white cells she has stronger.
The best choices are the deep green and orange ones like spinach and
carrots, melon and oranges.
Too much fat, particularly polyunsaturated vegetables oils, adversely
effect immune system strength. On the other hand, fish oil can boost
it.
http://parenting.ivillage.com/gs/gshealth/0,,3vq2,00.html
This site is touting supplements (not endorsed by myself or Google
Answers), but does provide useful dietart information for boosting
your immune system.:
"Eat a variety of foods, not just "immune system foods."
The immune system is varied and, thus, needs many different nutrients.
If you stick with only a few foods, you may deprive the body of its
nutritional needs.
Eat generous amounts of fruits and vegetables.
Fruits and vegetables contain important vitamins as well as
phytochemicals that can help the body fight disease.
Eat foods that contain minerals, especially zinc, iron and copper.
Don't overdo it; too much of these is as bad as not enough. (Which is
why you should eat foods, not take supplements.)
Eat complex carbohydrates such as grains and legumes.
This results in longer- lasting energy. If you do not get enough
carbohydrates, your body will draw on protein, robbing immunological
cells of important foods.
Eat foods high in fiber.
Try to consume 30-40 grams of fiber a day. Eat before or during times
of stress. This way you make sure you get adequate energy for your
"normal" functions and the extra energy needed during times of stress.
Don't eat fat.
Try not to make fats any more than 20 percent of your daily caloric intake.
Don't eat sweets.
They suppress the immune system. "
"The pharmaceutical industry produces many over-the-counter products
for "routine" illnesses such as colds, fevers, and so on.
Unfortunately, in the long run many of these do you more harm than
good. What a cold medicine does is suppress the cold's symptoms-and
doing this actually suppresses the immune system. When you take these
remedies to "feel better," what you actually do is prolong your
illness and weaken your immune system.
For example, antihistamines, found in many popular cold-relief
products, interfere with the components of the immune system that
fight allergies. Decongestant sprays suppress signals to the nose and
throat that do little to promote natural defenses against invaders.
In other words, if you have a cold, the best thing you can do is eat
well and rest. Stay home if you can; don't go to work and tire
yourself, or spread your cold. It may mean a few days of uncomfortable
symptoms, but this beats a lifetime of a weakened immune system."
http://www.aim4health.com/hccaim6.htm
Although this site is intended for patients of a rare disease, it does
explain the immune system:
"A normal immune system is made up of a complex mixture of white blood
cells and proteins that work together to fight invading germs such as
viruses, fungi and bacteria.
Recurrent infections will occur if the immune system is missing one of
its components. If this happens the person is said to be
immunodeficient. How badly someone is affected will depend on which
cells or proteins are affected, whether they are missing altogether,
present in low numbers or unable to function properly.
Some of the white cells can rush in and 'gobble up' certain germs as
soon as they enter the body. Other white cells plan a long-term
strategy. Once they have been exposed to a germ they will remember
having met it before and react more effectively the next time they
encounter it."
http://www.maxappeal.org.uk/infosheet.asp?id=8
White Blood Cells:
" All leukocytes (def) are critical to body defense. There are
normally between 5,000-10,000 leukocytes per cubic millimeter (mm3) of
blood and these can be divided into five major types: neutrophils,
basophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes. The production of
colonies of the different types of leukocytes is called leukopoiesis
(def) and is induced by various cytokines (def) known as colony
stimulating factors or CSFs (def).
A complete blood count (CBC) (def) is a laboratory test which, among
other things, detemines the total number of both leukocytes and
erythrocytes (def) per ml of blood. In general, an elevated WBC count
(leukocytosis (def) ) is seen in infection, inflammation, leukemia,
and parasitic infestations. A decreased WBC count (leukopenia (def))
is generally seen in bone marrow depression, severe infection, viral
infections, autoimmune diseases, malignancies, and malnutrition. For
example, infections may increase the total leukocyte count two to
three times the normal level by dramatically increasing the number of
neutrophils.
A differential white blood cell count (leukocyte differential count)
(def) determines the number of each type of leukocyte calculated as a
percentage of the total number of leukocytes. This information can be
useful diagnostically because different diseases or disorders can
cause an increase or a decrease in the various types of WBCs. For
example, when doing a differential WBC count, neutrophils are usually
divided into segs (a mature neutrophile having a segmented nucleus)
and bands (an immature neutrophil with an incompletely segmented or
banded nucleus). During an active infection, people are generally
producing large numbers of new neutrophils and therefore will have a
higher percentage of the immature band forms. (An increase in band
forms is sometimes referred to as a "shift to the left" (def) because
on laboratory slips used for differential WBC counts, the heading for
bands is to the left of the heading for mature neutrophils or segs.) "
http://www.cat.cc.md.us/courses/bio141/lecguide/unit2/innate/bloodcells.html
More about the function of WBCs
http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic2802.htm
There you go. I hope this has helped you understand how anemia itself
does not directly cause you to suffer from the flu. If you are anemic,
please see your doctor. S/he can order blood tests to determine the
level of anemia you may have, and prescibe therapy for you. A CBC test
will measure the number of RBCs and WBCs, hemoglobin and
hematocrit(and more), all parameters your doctor can use to judge
whether you are deficient in RBCs or WBCs. I wish you the best.
If any part of my answer is unclear, please request an Answer
Clarification, before rating, and I will be happy to assist you
further on this question.
Regards, Crabcakes
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