10 Ways to Naturally Increase Blood Platelets | Herbal Goodness
Looking for ways to increase blood platelets naturally? Then it’s time to embrace a natural food diet that will boost your platelet count without any side effects whatsoever.
Related: Increase Platelet (thrombocytes) Count Naturally
Platelets play an important role in blood coagulation – the process through which clots are formed to curb bleeding whenever we suffer a cut.
Assuming the shape of small plates, these cellular bodies are one of the components of blood, along with red blood cells and white blood cells.
It is vital to maintain a healthy platelet count (150,000-450,000 platelets/microliter of blood). Less than that and you are likely to suffer from thrombocytopenia. And above the normal range and you are likely to be a victim of thrombocytosis.
Foods to Increase Blood Platelets
The best way to naturally boost your platelet count is to consume foods rich in certain vitamins and minerals that aid the body in the manufacture and maintenance of platelets in the blood.
Sure, you can harness these nutrients from supplements, but it’s best to get them from foods whenever you can.
Here is a list of 10 foods that can naturally raise your platelet levels.
1. Papaya
Papaya fruit is a known treasure trove of vitamins and minerals and making it part of your regular diet will help keep your platelet count in good balance.
Papaya comes with the bonus of versatility, meaning you don’t necessarily have to consume the fruit itself to extract these benefits. Carica papaya leaves are a good way to naturally increase blood platelets too, and they are even more potent than the fruit itself.
If finding organic leaves is a problem depending on where you are, you can order the Papaya Leaf Blood Formula, a natural extract concocted from non-GMO, organic papaya leaves.
2. Pumpkin
Pumpkin is another great natural way to increase your platelet count.
As with its orange cousin, the papaya, this seedy fruit is packed with vitamin A which plays the crucial role of facilitating healthy platelet development, not to mention the regulation of proteins manufactured in the body.
3. Beetroot
Including beetroot in your diet can increase blood platelets substantially.
In fact, people suffering from anemia are advised to consume beetroot; so are children who need a natural supplemental boost.
4. Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass is a proven remedy for low platelet count, and it comes with a slew of other nutritional and medicinal benefits to boot.
At the core of this potency is the high level of chlorophyll present in wheatgrass. And if you can remember your biology, chlorophyll is the animal equivalent of hemoglobin. So that’s basically like gobbling down healthy blood in plant form. And it can only mean good things.
5. Pomegranate
Another great food to increase blood platelets naturally. As with all red fruits, pomegranate seeds are brimming with iron, a mineral essential in maintaining a healthy platelet count.
This sweet fruit is also loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C and other minerals, and it is no surprise traditional medicine practitioners turned to it for its healthy and medicinal properties.
6. Lean Protein
Lean proteins boast good amounts of zinc and vitamin B12 which are great at reversing incidences of low platelet count. Lean protein foods include lean beef and white meat sources such as fish, chicken, turkey, crab, and oysters.
However, you might be well advised to avoid fish oil as Omega 3 hinders platelet activation in the blood, with cod liver oil being the only exception.
7. Foods Rich in Folate
Folate, also known as vitamin B9, is at the heart of cell growth and reproduction. Suffice to say its deficiency in the body could lead to a reduced number of platelets. A “normal adult” should be consuming 400 mg of folate per day on average.
Foods rich in vitamin B9 include spinach, oranges, asparagus, beans, raisins, and fortified cereals.
8. Foods Rich in Vitamin A
Vitamin A helps in the manufacture of protein and healthy platelets in our bodies.
Therefore, including foods rich in this vitamin in your regular diet can help maintain normal body functioning. Think carrots, papaya, kale, and sweet potatoes.
9. Foods Rich in Vitamin K
Vitamin K is the vitamin directly attributed to blood clotting. This is because it plays the crucial role of activating proteins that are responsible for stimulating
the formation of blood clots. Make it a point of consuming foods rich in vitamin K. These include leafy greens such as lettuce, broccoli, spinach, kale, parsley, and seaweeds. Others include soybean, olive, Swiss chard, cauliflower, and eggs.
10. Milk
Milk is one of the most complete foods available to us, if not the most complete.
Among its long list of nutrients, milk contains calcium in healthy doses.
Calcium works together with vitamin K and a milk protein known as fibrinogen to boost platelet count in the blood while improving the blood’s ability to form clots.
You can also incorporate other dairy foods