Nutrients for anemia: if you constantly feel run-down and tired, you may have anemia. Here are three supplements that can help.(HEALTHY SOLUTIONS: SUPPLEMENTS)(Disease/Disorder overview)

Anemia is the most common blood disorder in the country. According to the Mayo Clinic, more than 3.4 million Americans suffer with some form of anemia, the symptoms of which often include fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, pale skin, and cold or numb hands and feet. Headaches are another symptom, as ate nails that break easily.

So what is this condition, anyway? How do we get it and how do we treat it? Let's start with the basics. Your blood consists of a liquid (called plasma) and three different types of cells; white blood cells fight infection; platelets help your blood to clot; and red blood cells (also called erythrocytes) transport oxygen. Anemia is a condition in which there are fewer than normal healthy red blood cells.

This is serious stuff, because those red blood cells have important work to do. Their job is to take oxygen away from the lungs via the bloodstream and into all tissues of your body, such as your brain and other organs. "Oxygenated" blood is what gives you energy. It also makes your skin glow.

Iron-Deficiency Anemia

The most well-known kind of anemia is the type caused by too little iron, or "iron-deficiency" anemia. This is because hemoglobin, the actual protein in red blood cells that does the heavy lifting in the oxygen department, is utterly dependent on iron. Iron deficiency is the main reason your blood test shows a low level of hemoglobin.

Approximately one-fifth of women, half of pregnant women, and 3 percent of men ate iron deficient. Pregnant women are at especially high risk for anemia precisely because the growing fetus demands so much iron that there's often not enough left for the mother. Menstruating women are also at risk, due to the monthly loss of iron in the blood.

If you are indeed iron deficient, your doctor will probably prescribe iron supplements. Most people with mild or moderate iron deficiency anemia can correct the problem over a period of about three months, but if iron stores remain low, a few more months of supplementation may be recommended.