Foods high in certain vitamins and minerals can help your body make and maintain platelets in your blood. While many of these nutrients are available in supplement form, it’s best to try to get them from foods when you can. Eating well is essential to regaining health.

Vitamin B-12

Vitamin B-12 helps keep your blood cells healthy. A deficiency of B-12 has been associatedTrusted Source with low platelet counts. The best sources of vitamin B-12 tend to be animal-based foods, such as:

• beef liver
• clams
• eggs

While vitamin B-12 is also found in dairy products, such as milk and cheese, some studies indicate that cow’s milk can interfere with platelet production.

Folate

Folate is a B vitamin that helps your cellsTrusted Source, including blood cells. It appears naturally in many foods, and it’s added to others in the form of folic acid. Sources of natural folate include:

• peanuts
• black-eyed peas
• kidney beans
• oranges
• orange juice

Iron

Iron is essential to your body’s ability to produce healthy blood cells. A 2012 studyTrusted Source also found that it increased platelet counts in participants with iron-deficiency anemia. You can find high levels of iron in certain foods, including:

• mussels
• pumpkin seeds
• lentils
• beef

Vitamin C

Vitamin C helpsTrusted Source your platelets group together and function efficiently. It also helps you to absorb iron, which may also help to increase platelet counts. The book Vitamin C: Its Chemistry and Biochemistry reported a rise in platelet count in a small group of patients who received vitamin C supplementation.

Good sources of vitamin C include:

• mangoes
• pineapple
• broccoli
• green or red bell peppers
• tomatoes
• cauliflower

While some foods can raise your platelet count, others, including some beverages, can lower it. Things that can lower your platelet count include:

• quinine, which is found in tonic water
• alcohol
• cranberry juice
• cow’s milk
• tahini

Papaya leaf extract

A 2013 studyTrusted Source found that papaya leaf extract significantly increased platelet counts in animals. While more research is needed to test its effect on humans, it won’t cause any problems as long as you don’t take more than the recommended dose.

Colostrum is the first substance that a baby cow receives from its mother. It’s also becoming a common dietary supplement.

While there isn’t much research about its benefits, an informal study done by the Platelet Disorder Support Association suggests that some people reported beneficial effects on their platelet count after taking it.

Chlorophyll

Chlorophyll is a green pigment that allows plants to absorb light from the sun. Some people with thrombocytopenia report that taking a chlorophyll supplement helps to relieve symptoms, such as fatigue. However, no clinical studies have evaluated its effectiveness.

Melatonin

Your body naturally produces melatonin, but you can also find it in liquid form, a tablet, or lotions in many health food stores.

While it’s often used to improve sleep, it’s also been foundTrusted Source to increase platelet levels. However, the study that established this connection was very small, so more research is needed to fully understand its effect on platelet counts.