I have heard that papaya is very good for helping with low platelets. I would be interested in anyone’s experiences. Does it help with increasing platelet numbers, mine are very low. How does one use it, is it the fresh fruit, tinned fruit(if available), dried fruit pieces, drinks or the dried leaf powder or extract?
Are there side effects one should beware?
I have found out very little so far so I am hoping someone can advise me in this matter.
Roger
Hi @rogerh
I’m not sure what the benefits or otherwise are.
Probably a question for your clinical team.
@BloodCancerUK-SupportTeam may also be able to advise and potentially share links to resources.
Hello there @rogerh, welcome back to the forum. I hope you’ve been well since you last posted.
Unsure if it was the case when you signed up for the forum but we members can’t share medical advice these days. As a general tip, I’d say it’s always wise to pass any big change in our life, including diets, by our specialists. What have yours said about adapting to the blood disorder you live with?
Saying that, I would be wary of trying to tinker with platelet numbers as living with Polycythaemia vera ('PV') means I need to be careful not to increase blood cell production with the food I eat. I learnt this the hard way as pre-diagnosis I used to take a multivitamin which included iron that actually worsened my symptoms and probably extended my phlebotomy treatments until I changed to an iron-free multivitamin in consultation with my haematologist.
It might be that you’ve found very little information because papaya hasn’t been widely shown in research to benefit platelet numbers. There’s some Blood Cancer UK information about what to eat with blood cancer here: What to eat when you have blood cancer | Blood Cancer UK
If you’d like to call the Blood Cancer UK specialist nurses about your queries they can be called on 0808 2080 888. Hope that helps a little @rogerh, do let us know what you find out.
Hi @rogerh, good to see you back on the forum.
The community have given you some really helpful pointers here. I’d echo the advice about speaking with your haematology team before making any significant dietary changes - this is especially important when platelet levels are involved, as what’s right can vary quite a bit depending on your individual situation and any treatment you may be on.
Please do get in contact with the support line if you’d like some further advice, as @Duncan mentioned. It’s staffed by some wonderful blood cancer nurses.
Take care,
Ceri – Blood Cancer UK Support Services
Thank you Ceri for your response. I have now had chance to talk to my consultant. He was not encouraging in my possible use of papaya to help me with my low platelets. That was sufficient for me to discard that idea.
Again
Thank you. Roger
Thank you DuncanB for your response. I have spoken to my consultant who was not encouraging about using papaya. That was sufficient for me to give up the idea.
Again,
Thank you
Roger
Thank you Duncan for your response. I have now had chance to speak to my consultant who was not encouraging about using papaya. That was enough to stop me continuing with that idea.
Again, thank-you
Roger