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How to Increase Red Blood Cell Count

 
Max. D Gray
By Max. D Gray. Updated: January 20, 2017
How to Increase Red Blood Cell Count

Have you had a blood test and notice low hematocrit levels or a low red blood cell count? Don't know what this means or how to fix it? Although it may be a symptom of a mild condition, the fact is that you must go to your doctor to check that all is well and to find the specific cause of the decline of your red blood cells. At OneHowTo we give you some recommendations for how to increase red blood cell count so you can combat this deficit.

You may also be interested in: Which Foods Increase Red Blood Cells
Steps to follow:
1

First, before going into depth on how to increase red blood cell count, it's important to understand what a hematocrit is and how it is expressed as a figure. This count examines the amount of red blood cells, hematids or erythrocytes - the three terms refer to the same type of blood cell - relative to the total in your blood. The figure is expressed by a percentage (%).

Normal hematocrit levels typically range from:

  • Men: 40.7% to 50.3%
  • Women: 36.1% to 44.3%

To know your hematocrit levels, a blood sample has to be analysed in a laboratory.

How to Increase Red Blood Cell Count - Step 1
2

The fact that your hematocrit level is less than what is considered normal may be due to different causes such as:

  • Anemia
  • A nutritional deficiency in your diet
  • Hemorrhages
  • A decreased production of red blood cells
  • Leukemia
  • etc.

This list is only indicative of some of the possible reasons for a deficiency in your red blood cell levels. You should go to your doctor so you can get the right diagnosis and answers as to why you have a low red blood cell count. And only then can you can initiate appropriate treatment to control this.

3

Thus, in addition to following the recommendations of your doctor regarding treatment to raise the levels, you should note that there are some recommendations that you may find useful, especially with regards to food.

Foods rich in vitamin B12 are a good example of this, since this nutrient, also called cobalamin, favors the production of red blood cells or hematids. Some examples of products that contain cobalamin are:

  • Red meat
  • Guts, especially liver
  • Shellfish such as mussels or clams
  • Egg yolk
  • Dairy products

Still, it should be noted that you should never abuse these foods, since they are high in amounts that can be harmful to other aspects of your health, such as uric acid.

How to Increase Red Blood Cell Count - Step 3
4

Also, vitamin C is another nutrient that be in your diet to compensate the deficit of red blood cells. This is one of the many other benefits that characterize this vitamin. Foods that have more vitamin C include all citrus fruits such as oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, etc., but the fact is that there are many other foods with an even greater content of vitamin C.

You can add other foods into your diet like kiwis, strawberries, papaya, guava, mango, green leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, cabbage...), nuts, legumes, etc. So you will learn about other foods which will help a lot.

5

When you raise your red blood cell levels, it will also be very useful to use parsley as a home remedy to increase hemoglobin levels. This plant has the capacity to stimulate the production of red blood cells and to improve iron levels in the blood.

Therefore, in addition to including it as a condiment in your recipes, we recommend that you prepare parsley juices. You can also add other vegetables rich in vitamins such as those listed above, or even some carrots. You can take a look at how to make carrot juice for more information.

How to Increase Red Blood Cell Count - Step 5

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 How to Increase Red Blood Cell Count, we recommend you visit our Diseases & secondary effects category.

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