Boost Your Immunity: Natural Ways to Increase White Blood Cell Count

White blood cells play an important role in the body, as the cells ward off infection. If your white blood count becomes too low, you are more susceptible to an infection or virus. To build up your white blood cells, you will need to give your immune system a boost.

Things You'll Need

• Vitamin C supplement
• Vitamin E supplement
• Omega 3 supplement
• Zinc supplement
• Protein-rich foods

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Instructions

Dietary Methods

• 1

  Get plenty of Vitamin C. Vitamin C not only can be found naturally in fruits and vegetables, such as oranges, but is also available in supplements. Take a minimum of 200 milligrams of vitamin C daily, and incorporate several servings of fruits and vegetables daily. If you take vitamin C supplements, space them out throughout the course of the day.

• 2

  Add vitamin E to your diet. Vitamin E assists the immune system by augmenting the creation of immune cells that create antibodies that fight bacteria. Vitamin E can be found in seeds, vegetables, grains and oils.

• 3

  Consume enough calories to avoid weight loss. Eat whole foods such as beans and legumes. Also make sure you have plenty of protein in your diet. Lean chicken, fish, and eggs are foods rich in protein.

• 4

  Make omega 3 fatty acids part of your diet. Food rich in omega 3 fatty acids include flax oil and fish including salmon and tuna. Fatty acids can also be obtained in supplements like flax or fish oil.

• 5

  Strive for 15 to 25 milligrams of zinc daily. Foods rich in zinc include oysters, crab, beef, turkey, beans, and zinc-fortified cereals. Zinc can also be acquired through supplements.

Medical Methods

• 6

  Help your bone marrow produce more white blood cells through medical treatment. Certain drugs increase white blood cells and refurbish the body's ability to ward off infections. Consult your physician.

• 7

  Consider taking steroids. The Neutropenia Support Association Inc. Web site, steroids are efficient in increasing white blood cells. Steroids promote the exiting of white blood cells from the bone marrow to enter the blood stream.

• 8

  Seek a bone marrow transplant if your white blood cell count is severely low and no other methods work to increase the level of white blood cells. With a bone marrow transplant, your defective bone marrow is substituted with healthy marrow from a donor.