Having healthy bone marrow is crucial to physical and mental wellbeing. The importance of healthy bone marrow is often overlooked, but the condition of our bone marrow has profound effects on numerous aspects of our overall health. A great way to keep bone marrow healthy and strong is through a diet rich in bone marrow strengthening foods.

Bone marrow is hidden away deep inside our bones, but its effects radiate throughout our whole body and have a profound impact on our health. Marrow plays an important role in our immune system – red and white blood cells and platelets are formed inside bone marrow, so keeping it healthy is crucial for immune system function.

Like all aspects of our health, the strength of our bone marrow is very dependent on the food we eat. If you take up a diet rich in bone marrow strengthening foods, you’ll give yourself a better chance of having a healthy immune system. But what foods strengthen bone marrow?

Below we’ll explain what bone marrow is and learn about the importance of having healthy bone marrow. We’ll also discuss how bone marrow functions in your immunity, discover natural ways to strengthen your bone marrow, and suggest some bone marrow-strengthening foods you should be incorporating into your diet. Let’s get started!

What Is Bone Marrow?

Bone marrow is soft, fatty tissue located inside the bones in your body. Almost all of the components of blood, such as blood cells and platelets, are produced inside your bone marrow. Your bone marrow produces billions of new blood cells every day. It also stores fat that is converted into energy as required.

There are two types of bone marrow:

• Red bone marrow: The main job of red bone marrow is the production of blood cells by hematopoietic stem cells (stem cells are cells that morph into other cells), through a process called hematopoiesis.
• Yellow bone marrow: The main jobs of yellow bone marrow are fat preservation and the production of cells that are used in organs throughout the body. Yellow bone marrow contains two types of stem cells: adipocytes and mesenchymal stem cells.

Children up to approximately age seven only have red bone marrow. As we age, yellow bone marrow gradually replaces red bone marrow.

Image by Grooveland Designs on Unsplash: How can I improve my bone marrow naturally? It all starts with diet.

Why Is It Important To Have Healthy Bone Marrow?

It’s important to have healthy, strong bone marrow because it performs several actions that are vital to life and good health. Among the crucial actions that happen in your bone marrow are:

• The production of most of the components of your blood – red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are all produced in the bone marrow
• The production of muscle, fat, bone, and cartilage cells
• The storage of fat that is converted into energy as needed

How Bone Marrow Functions In Your Immunity

Your immune system is the system of organs, tissues, cells, and substances that protect your body against the pathogens that cause sickness. Your bone marrow plays a key role in the functioning of your immune system.

Firstly, bone marrow produces white blood cells that prevent infection. Four types of white blood cells are produced in bone marrow:

• Neutrophils: These cells protect you from infections by killing foreign debris, bacteria, and fungi.
• Basophils: These cells produce the allergic response.
• Eosinophils: These cells identify and destroy parasites and cancer cells, and assist basophils with the allergic response.
• Monocytes: These cells defend against infection by cleaning up damaged cells.

Your bone marrow also produces:

• Red blood cells that carry oxygen, which enables the organs of your immune system to function.
• Platelets, which enable your blood to clot, controlling bleeding and helping wounds to heal.

Signs And Symptoms Of Bone Marrow Deficiencies?

Bone marrow deficiencies can be difficult to recognize – the signs and symptoms that may indicate a bone marrow deficiency can have many diverse causes. If you have one or more of the following symptoms, you may be suffering from a bone marrow deficiency:

• Muscle weakness, general fatigue, or shortness of breath (may be caused by a lack of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen, or a lower red blood cell count, which can result in less oxygen being delivered to tissues in your body)
• Fever or increased infections (may be the result of not having enough white blood cells)
• Easy bruising and bleeding (may be due to having fewer healthy platelets, which help the blood to clot)

How Can I Improve My Bone Marrow Naturally?

How do you increase bone marrow strength naturally? Here are some top tips:

• Eat a diet rich in bone marrow-strengthening foods (high-protein foods such as meat, fish, dairy, beans, nuts, and eggs strengthen bone marrow)
• Take supplements (vitamins B9, B12, and iron are essential for healthy bone marrow). GenBoost will be releasing a new immunity supplement range soon – stay tuned!
• Treat any medical conditions you have in which bone marrow abnormalities are a side effect.

Image by monicore on Pixabay: How do you increase bone marrow strength? A diet rich in things like protein, B12, and folic acid is a great start.

Foods That Help Keep the Bone Marrow Healthy

If you’re still wondering, “How do I keep my bone marrow healthy?”, remember that the most important factor in keeping your bone marrow healthy is your diet. It is essential that you get enough protein, vitamins, and nutrients in your diet in order to maximize the health of your bone marrow.

Some nutrients that are especially important for bone marrow strength are:

• Protein
• Iron
• Folic acid (also called Vitamin B9)
• Vitamin B12

Here are 12 bone marrow-strengthening foods you can incorporate easily into your diet:

1. Broccoli (high in iron and folic acid)
2. Tuna (high in iron, protein, and B12)
3. Sardines (high in protein and B12)
4. Red meat (high in iron, protein, and B12)
5. Organ meats (high in iron, protein, B12, and folic acid)
6. Turkey (high in iron, protein)
7. Oysters (high in iron, protein)
8. Beans (high in iron, protein, and folic acid)
9. Nuts (high in iron, protein, and folic acid)
10. Eggs (high in protein, B12, and folic acid)
11. Dairy (high in protein and B12)
12. Spinach (high in iron and folic acid)

Featured image by tomwieden on Pixabay