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White Blood Cells Explained!
Hey B Better family,What do you need to have healthy white blood cells? What type of white blood cells can you find on your lab reports? And what do these types actually do? These are all questions you will find answered here!
Right now in my country (The Netherlands) a lot of people have the flu and/or COVID. Almost 60 percent of the Dutch people are in the winter vitamin D deficient. Why? Because the sun doesn’t rise high enough in the sky for enough UVB light radiated from the sun to pass the ozone layer.
60%!!!
We need vitamin D to produce white blood cells. Almost all white blood cells do have vitamin D receptors suggesting we need vitamin D to make the white blood cells do their job as well. If you follow the answers Bernadette and I give on Circle, we mention often the following nutrients to support your white blood cells:
- Vitamin D: We estimate that vitamin D activates 1 up to 5% of our genes. That is a lot! To give you some perspective: we share about 98% of our genes with pigs. Most of those genes are related to the immune system and how we regulate inflammation.
- Zinc: Zinc influences the production of white blood cells. For example, zinc is needed to produce and mature white blood cells. Zinc is also needed for the functioning of white blood cells (click here to read an article)
- Vitamin A: Also this vitamin is needed for the production of white blood cells. A lack of vitamin A can cause also other problems like dry skin and hair, night blindness, irregular patches on the white of the eyes and/or Xerophthalmia (a severe dryness of the eye).
- B vitamins: A deficiency in B12 can lead to a low white blood cell count and so does a folate deficiency. Vitamin B6 plays a role in the function and composition of T cells and a deficiency in this vitamin impairs lymphocyte function as well (if you like to dive deep, you can take a look at this study and this study)
If you have been longer on this forum, this might not be something new. In fact, you might have read this in B’s Medicine Cabinet Must-Haves & Go-To Immune Boosting Protocol.What type of white blood cells can you find on your lab results?
The white blood cells are called ‘leukocytes‘. You can find them often on your lab reports. They can also be called WBC (which is the abbreviation of White Blood Cells). High numbers of white blood cells are often seen with starting infections. A low white blood cell count can be caused by a simmering longer-lasting infection.Often the reference range of WBC is between 4000 and 10000 cells per microliter. It is my personal experience that an immune system at rest is often around 6000 cells per microliter.
There are different types of white blood cells. When the doctor orders a ‘White Blood Cell Differential‘ you will find typically the next types of white blood cells:
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Neutrophils: When the body is attacked by an invader, Neutrophils are the first type of white blood cells that attack. With an immune system at rest, these are the type of white blood cells that are the most abundant. Personally, I like to see Neutrophils making up around 70% of white blood cells. If you for example see that the percentage of neutrophils is around 50%, this might indicate that some of your neutrophils have died during a war against an infection.
Neutrophils are like 3-dimensional packman’s and can eat microbes. This is called phagocytosis.
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Lymphocytes: There are 2 groups of lymphocytes: T lymphocytes (or T cells) and B lymphocytes (or B cells). T cells are made when young lymphocytes travel to the thymus gland. T cells control your body’s immune system response and directly attack and kill infected cells and tumor cells.
When young lymphocytes enter lymph nodes, they get a different kind of training and they will develop into B cells. B cells make antibodies. Antibodies are proteins that target viruses, bacteria and other foreign invaders.
Lymphocytes often increase with infections and lower for the same reason as neutrophils when infections last longer.
- Monocytes: These types of white blood cells act more like firefighters. When they hear an alarm they come to the rescue. Monocytes are types of white blood cells that can help defend when invaders penetrate tissues. They also help remove damaged tissue. They can differentiate into 2 types: macrophages (which can eat microbes, just like neutrophils) and dendritic cells (which release proteins called cytokines that notify other white blood cells to come to the site of the infection and destroy the invader).
- Eosinophils: Eosinophils are a type of white blood cells that are more present in the gut. Elevations of eosinophils can mean your body is fighting an infection or an allergic reaction. They also help fight fungal infections and parasites and worms. Having a strong immune system is therefore important for gut health.
- Basophils: These types of white blood cells help fight parasitic infections as well. Unlike eosinophils, basophils are found in many tissues throughout your body. Basophils also release histamine when the body is exposed to an allergen.
And now you know! I hope the next time you look at your personal lab values you are able to understand them better! -
5 Replies
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Haha – love the 3-dimensional Pac-Man analogy!
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Love the breakdown
Currently obsessed with diving into blood tests and the fact that those numbers actually speak a thousand words -
This was done with pleasure! If you have any further questions, let us know!
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you bet I have☺️ my blood test came back and I started working on it …..once I am done will share and ask for your advice
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White blood cells have always been a mystery to me along basophil, neutrophils and eosinophils.
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