Platelets are an important blood component that helps in controlling bleeding. The most abundant particle in our blood is the platelet that causes the blood to clot whenever there’s a cut or injury, thereby stopping the bleeding in minutes. Now, there are tens and thousands of platelets in normal which help in this process.
But in cases of certain diseases and illness like dengue etc the platelets gets destroyed by the infective germ, making the body prone to bleeding. Such a low count of platelet can cause serious brain damage and other organ damage.
Apart from a blood transfusion, the most trusted way to increase your platelet count is by eating low platelets treatment food. Foods to increase platelet count are often used as basic preventive care and home remedy for diseases like dengue.
But how do these home remedies to increase platelets work is a very basic understanding of the platelet’s structure?
How Foods to Increase Platelet Count Work?
Platelets like all other blood cell particles including hemoglobin have a structure made up of vitamins and essential nutrient elements like iron, magnesium, etc. So, any food items which is rich in vitamins and minerals are good foods to increase the platelet count.
These foods are generally high in vitamins fruits and vegetables. In fact, fruits to increase platelets are quite well known amongst dietitians and nutritionists who often advise to include these items in your regular diet to increase platelets and keep you healthy.
What are the Best Foods to Increase Platelet Count?
As you can understand from how these low platelets treat food work, most of the foods to increase platelet count are either fruits to increase platelets or dry fruits to increase platelets.
However, our goal is to have a complete nutritious meal made up of platelet increasing food items that not only increases your platelet counts and keeps diseases like dengue at bay but also make for a healthy lifestyle.
So, the capacity of platelet increasing foods goes beyond the perceived notion of typical foods to increase platelet count in dengue.
As the nature of foods to increase platelet count at our disposal is quite huge, we have divided it according to the vital nutrients they provide. So, based on vitamins and minerals supplied platelet increasing foods are of the following types.
1.Vitamin B12 Rich Foods
Vitamin B12 is an essential component of platelets and its deficiency causes a sharp drop in the platelet count of the body, So, the best foods to increase platelets happens to be Vitamin B12 rich foods like wheatgrass, beef liver, clams, eggs, and other dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. In fact, animal sources like trout, salmon, eggs, ham, chicken, etc are the best sources of vitamin B12 foods
Now if you are vegan, then go for non-dairy milk substitutes like almond milk and also vegan meat substitutes. Adding fortified foods like probiotics offer a better chance of getting vitamin B12 than vegan sources.
2. Folate or Vitamin B9 Rich Foods
Net to VitaminB12, the most crucial component is folate. Folate is actually an essential part of the Vitamin B12 complex and without folate vitamin B12 can’t function properly. So, a diet rich in folate containing foods forms the basis of foods to increase platelet count.
Thus eating folate-rich foods like beef liver, oranges, black-eyed peas, nuts like peanuts, kidney beans, etc has become an essential part of home remedies to increase platelets. Now, you realize why your mother emphasizes on having that badam milk and rajma chawal? That’s exactly how an Indian diet to increase platelets looks like.
3. Vitamin K Rich Foods
This is the chief ingredient for blood clotting and also for bone health. Any deficiency of Vitamin K causes the platelet count to drop making it an important choice for foods to increase platelet count.
In fact, a Platelet Disorder Support Association survey showed how Vitamin K improves platelet count and bleeding symptoms. The survey showed that approximately 27% of people who took Vitamin K supplement has better platelet count.
An average adult male above the age of 19 requires 120 micrograms of Vitamin K or while the average adult women need 90 micrograms per day.
Most green leafy vegetables like spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage contain vitamin K along with other foods items like meat, eggs, fish, liver, soybean, etc.
So, take these green vegetables like parsley, celery, watercress, kale, asparagus, and conjure up a healthy meal for yourself. You can make salads, soups, stir-fries, and even curries with these low platelet treatment foods. And them as much as you can in your meals, mix and match and you are all set to beat the blues.
4. Vitamin C Rich Foods
The ultimate efficiency of platelets is in their grouping together to aggregate at the injury or the cut site in order to stop the bleeding. Unless they aggregate, their clotting action won’t be effective. So, not just platelet enhancers but platelet aggregators are crucial. Vitamin C is one such crucial component that helps in aggregating the platelets for the clotting action.
Because of this vitamin C-rich foods like lemons, citrus fruits, mangoes, kiwi, tomatoes, oranges broccoli, green bell peppers, etc have become essential foods to increase platelet count.
5. Vitamin A Rich Foods
Vitamin A-rich foods act as a platelet production enhancers. Foods rich in vitamin A like pumpkins, apples, carrots, and potatoes hold the key to platelet production from the bone marrow. Hence, they are essential foods to increase platelet count.
You can simply make pumpkin soups or enrich your curries with pumpkins and potatoes, makes potato stir-fries, sandwiches, etc as meal options.
6. Iron-Rich Foods
Iron is essential for the proper functioning of the blood including platelets. Studies have shown how iron-rich food has enhanced the platelet count of people suffering from iron deficiency anemia. This seals the deal in favor of iron-rich foods like lentils, pumpkin seeds, beef, oysters, cereals, mussels, eggs, spinach, and kidney beans as low platelet treatment food.
Include them in your diet to conjure up some tasty and meals and you are all set to beat diseases like dengue.
Apart from this, there is aloe vera juice and papaya leaf extract have been traditionally used as home remedies to increase platelets. Papaya leaf extract has been particularly used as foods to increase platelet count in dengue. However, there isn’t any scientific explanation for this, and remains debatable,
Foods that Lower Platelet Counts
While we are stressing on the need for foods to increase platelet count, it is of primary importance to highlight foods that decrease platelet count. Cow milk is of primary importance here as it has been proved by studies that cow milk hampers platelet production. Other than cow milk, food items like cranberry juice, alcohol, tahini, tonic water, or quinine.
So there you go, the most comprehensive guide to foods to increase platelet count. Remember to include these in your diet for a healthy and disease-free life.
FAQs
1.How can I increase my platelet count naturally?
Platelet count can be naturally increased by eating vitamin and iron-rich foods. Food to increase platelet count is quite diverse and contains a vast range of options from meats to green vegetables like spinach and broccoli to dairy products like milk and cheese.
2. Does Kiwi increase platelets?
Kiwi is a vitamin C-rich anti-oxidant fruit that helps platelets aggregate at the injury site thereby preventing bleeding. Because of this property, Kiwi is an essential food to increase platelet count.
3. What foods decrease platelets?
Foods like cow milk, cranberries, and tahini decrease platelet count.
4. What is the most common cause of low platelet count?
Certain autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus along with infectious diseases causing germs like the Dengue virus, attacks the platelets and destroys it. And it’s this we are trying to replenish with these foods to increase platelet count.
