Hello
I am a 55 year old woman in California, USA with hereditary spherocytosis. This disease causes anemia because my blood is round instead of plate like, and my spleen assumes that it is defective so it removes it. I have been anemic since I was a child, and so I know no other condition.

My husband and I started the 5:2 diet in 2014 and did it for almost a year before I had to stop because it made my anemia worse. My husband continued, but I did not. Since stopping, I have been tested, and my anemia improved. Therefore, in my case, the diet did not cause any long term effects regarding anemia but did worsen the condition significantly.

Since the theory is that fasting induces your body to repair itself, I think that my spleen became more efficient at removing my blood, which in my case makes my anemia worse, but maybe in a healthy person getting rid of defective blood would be a good thing.

Bottom line, if you are anemic, you should definitely be tested regularly when doing this diet, and if you have spherocytosis, I do not recommend it.

Good for you! I do not know how the diet will affect all anemia, but I do know how it affected me. In my case, I am not iron deficient, so extra red meat is not an issue. I actually eat very healthy in general, and was doing so while I was doing the fast diet.