The pale color of fatigue

By Juana Ramírez

Chronic fatigue, headache, palpitations, shortness of breath and pale skin could make us part of this statistic: one in four people in the world suffer from anemia or anemic syndrome.

As a child, I was quite skinny and very pale. During visits to the pediatrician, my mother often complained about my "yellow" color and how she couldn't get me to gain weight. The doctor always repeated the same thing: she was a typical Latin American girl. This did not convince my mother at all, who imagined that the lack of color in my cheeks was due to the lack of red blood cells and, for her peace of mind, she prepared me crazy smoothies of beet with beef liver or broths with the blood of a chicken. 

However, my mother was somewhat right because several times I was diagnosed with anemia and the pediatrician was also right, as this condition is quite common in our countries as a result of malnutrition. 

But let's take it one step at a time.