What Foods Increase White Blood Cells
White Blood Cells are responsible to defend our body against bacteria and foreign organisms that could jeopardize our health, preventing infections, bacteria and viruses from affecting us severely. So when their levels fall our body is at the mercy of foreign agents, this is why it is important to address this situation. On oneHOWTO we explain what foods increase white blood cells effectively.
Contents
Why do I have a low white blood cell count?
A normal white blood cell count should be between 4,000 and 11,000 leukocytes, any amount lower than that margin indicates a decline that needs to be addressed.
The first step is to determine why the white blood cell count is low, a bacterial infection, a virus or conditions such as anaemia are often responsible, but there are other conditions that can lead to this condition. In our article what are the causes of a low white blood cell count you can discover all the diseases that lead to this condition.
Which foods increase white blood cells
Keeping leukocytes at a good level is essential to have a healthy immune system, and to do so you can incorporate this list of foods that increase white blood cells into your diet:
- Zinc is an important mineral for maintaining a good level of white blood cells, favouring the main function of these organisms: it prevents foreign organisms, so it is important to add to the diet. This can be found in foods such as sunflower seeds, oysters, peanuts, almonds, chickpeas, red meat and liver.
- Dark chocolate is another food rich in zinc which can be incorporated into the diet to increase white blood cells.
- Probiotics are also essential if you want to have a healthy immune system. These include yoghurt, pickles and kefir.
- Mushrooms, because of their selenium content help white blood cells fight infection effectively.
- Foods rich in vitamin C are also beneficial in maintaining a healthy immune system. This nutrient is present in citrus fruits such as strawberry, orange and kiwi in green leafy vegetables such as spinach or broccoli, and foods with beta-carotene such as carrots and red pepper.
- It is also advisable to add ingredients rich in omega 3 such as salmon, sardines, tuna, eggs or nuts to your diet.
- Folic acid is in charge of the creation of more white blood cells, so eating asparagus, papaya or beans can also boost your count.
- Add garlic to your diet, as it is also very useful for your immune system and to fight infections.
Other recommendations to increase white blood cells
Eating certain foods can benefit the increase of white blood cells, but it is also important to consider other recommendations:
- Eating a healthy diet will be important to ensure an efficient immune system.
- It is also recommended that you reduce stress and practice activities that help release tension. Anxiety and stress have a detrimental effect on our health affecting our immune system.
- Physical exercise at least three times a week will also be useful for improving general health and strengthening our body.
This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.
If you want to read similar articles to What Foods Increase White Blood Cells, we recommend you visit our Diseases & secondary effects category.
