Your white blood cells, or leukocytes, play a central role in maintaining your health. Various types of leukocytes make up your immune system and help your body identify potentially dangerous foreign particles, as well as destroy those particles before they can damage or inject your tissues. A healthy diet helps promote proper immune function, and several aspects of your diet contribute to white blood cell function.
Protein
Consuming enough protein is important to the health of your immune system and your white cell count. The protein in your diet provides your body with amino acids, which are required to create the proteins involved in immune responses. Failure to consume enough protein can prevent your body from making enough immune proteins, leading to a weakened immune system, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. In addition, your body may not be able to properly generate new white blood cells, lowering your white cell count. Most Americans already consume enough protein, though individuals following a vegan or raw diet should take care to consume sources of protein, such as beans and legumes, to prevent a protein deficiency.
Vitamins
A number of vitamins also contribute to your white blood cell count. Vitamin C, for example, helps promote the formation of new white blood cells within your bone marrow, according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. As a result, consuming enough vitamin C proves essential for maintaining a healthy white blood cell count, while vitamin C deficiency can cause a low white blood cell count. Vitamin A can also communicate with developing blood cells to promote the growth of white blood cells to suit your body's needs. Consume a range of nutritious foods, including vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes and fish to consume adequate vitamin A and C.
Minerals
Some minerals from your diet can also affect your white blood cell count. Copper -- an essential mineral found in seafood and nuts -- promotes white blood cell health, and copper deficiency can lead to low white blood cell counts, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. In addition, the mineral selenium helps boost your functional white blood cell count by helping activate important enzymes within your white blood cells to help fight off infection.
Considerations
While a healthy diet helps maintain your white blood cell count and some nutritional deficiencies can explain a low blood count, nutrition is only one of several factors that determine the health of your immune system. Several diseases and infections, such as HIV, can also have a profound effect on your white blood cells and immune system, and require medical attention. If you develop the symptoms of a low white blood count, such as frequent infections, seek medical attention to help determine the cause, instead of trying to treat the condition yourself by modifying your diet.
