The longer I was vegan and started exercising every day the lower my white blood cell count became. My doctor wondered why so she sent me to a hematologist who after running every test couldn't come up with a reason. NO ONE asked me a single thing about my diet. I'm so sick of doctors knowing nothing about nutrition.

OMG i almost cry reading my lab result for the 3rd time my wbc is always so low around 3. Im so afraid that i hv cancer of something but then i read comments here, thank you guys!!!!! I fee better

I just looked mine up, I got WBC of 3.4. I'm a 44y/o nonsmoking, non-drinking, vegan & follow as much of Dr Gregors advice as I can.

This video has me relieved, wow! I had a WBC count of 3.95 and the doctor had me so worried. This is my healthiest year so far, with no medication at all, not even simple painkillers, yet the doctor thinks I have a problem. I've never done the test before so I can't tell if it has changed or not. I feel good.

2.8 for me and don’t remember when I was sick since I cut out meat, dairy and processed food and ate whole food plant base.

I REALLY wish physicians were given nutritional studies…so many are so quick to run test test test and NEVER ask about lifestyle! My WBC for the past 3 years have been hovering btwn 2.7-2.8. NO ONE asked me about my diet! Thank you so much!!

I’ve been in the 3.0 to 3.7 range my whole life and I eat meat but I also excersise 6 days a week and I hardly eat any processed foods. Plus I don’t drink or smoke. The average American does not fall into that category, thus the range of 4.5-10

Wow! This is a life changing information seriously. My husband's doctor said his white blood cell count is at a lower side so she is worried and got us worried so much. I have not seen any information like this anywhere. I feel so relieved and at the same time, so disappointed at how most of doctors have no idea about what is going on. Thank you so much Dr. Michael!

Brilliant research! Thank you Dr. Greger! Now I'm going to celebrate my low, low, low WBC!🎉 Great news!! You're the best!! Cheers to exercise & a whole food plant based diet! 🌿🌎💚

2.9 for me... haven't been sick in over a year

Wow. My WBC was 4.0 and was flagged as low. I was worried! Thanks Dr. Gregor :)

Definately a connection to diet & exercise. In May of 2021 I became concerned about Covid inactivity, weight gain and high triglycerides. So, decided change was in order. Went full-on Keto, intermittent fasting (16/8) and walking one hour every day. Triglycerides dropped from 170s to 40s, white count also went down from 4.9 to between 2.9 - 3.8 ….All with good energy, great sleep & return to college weight at 70+ yrs old.

Hi, Could you also add the links to the studies and or paper you used in the video? It would be great to do reviews and check the sources.. Thank you.

My latest WBC was 2.5! 🎉 I've been vegetarian since I was 16, so it's always been "low". Now that I'm 49 years old, WFPB vegan for many years, exercise regularly, and don't drink alcohol, it's even lower. Plus, after much Google researching, I'm learning that people of African descent, especially West Africans, tend to have much lower WBC and neutrophil counts than those of European descent. So, 2.5 is perfect, fine, and healthy and I'm not dying of some mystery disease! 😂 So thankful we have Dr. Greger!!! ❤😊

I used to smoke, drink and eat trash food in the university about 5 years ago. Then a friend got cancer and I decided this was not the way I wanted to go I did hours of research on the internet on how to prevent cancer and heart disease from a young age hoping to undo some of the damage I did to my body. My first ever blood work at 22 Yo had a WBC of 8.2. I stumbled upon Dr Greger's site about 3 years ago started following a plant based diet quit many bad habits smoking and drinking... I just turned 27 and went for a full blood work test... WBC is 5.02 everything else on optimal or close to optimal levels. Glad to see my body was able to heal... feeling better than ever. Thanks to Dr Grege for this very valuable videos.

There's a lot of angles to this story and I wish Dr. Greger would go into more detail on this in either his blog or a future video. Definitely, low WBC could be of concern to some folks and always they should seek out a qualified doctor's guidance on their own situation. That said, here is my story. I was a typical SAD (Standard American Diet == Meat) eater for my first 50+ years and had all the bad side effects of that lifestyle. My WBC on my annual CBCs were consistently in 3.7 - 4.5 range. The 3.x's always worried me, but my docs said it's fine at that level. About 3+ years ago, I gave up meat entirely and moved to a complete WFPB / Vegan diet and have never felt better. But, when I started getting back my CBC results, it terrified me. My first WBC after a year was 3.5, then 3.1, then (yikes 2.8!). So, I began investigating everywhere I could and of course, Dr. Greger has some great resources. So does Dr. Klaper (another WFPB doc), who in one video states that 2.8 and so on is not unusual for LT Vegans. And he gets asked by Hematologists - so this tells you how poorly this information is circulating out there. Another resource I found in my search said some folks just have a genetic tendency to have lower WBCs. This sounded interesting so I polled my siblings, who are the complete opposite of WFPB eaters. Sure enough - same #'s as I used to have - 3.5, 3.7, 4.1 etc. So, low or under the usual guidelines - and that as regular meat eaters. Last piece - and it's kinda funny. One year I was at a conference and had to grab a quick lunch. I was hungry and the menu ( I thought !) said "almost chicken sandwich". It was good, so I had two of them. Turns out, I read it wrong - it WAS chicken. Uggh! Two days later, I had my annual physical w/ CBC. My WBC had shot up from 3.1 to 3.7, I am guessing from the meat. A year later, back to sub 3.0 again. Anyway, take this as just my personal experience, but I sure wish one of the widely followed research docs would do a deeper dive on this, taking into consideration there are genetic tendencies for some folks to start at much lower WBC's than others, so when they drop down 25% from their meat eating days, they go down to these levels that look scary on paper. While the majority of Vegan folks drop similarly from a higher value and are not flagged as too low.

great video. Any suggestions what screening blood work a person should get for cardiovascular screening if we are pretty healthy/ Is C-reactive Protein, homocysteine and WBC counts enough, just as a general screen?

Thank you Dr. Greger, I was tested twice for low wbc, 3.8. I am very relieved now. I feel great and rarely get mildly sick.

My most recent WBCs were at 4,000. They've been a little lower before, and the doctor had me all panicked, but I rarely get sick and feel like I have a pretty robust immune system.

I was recently sent to a blood specialist to run further tests because they were alarmed with my low white blood cell count. I was freaking out because I was in a waiting room with a lot of cancer patients, too many to count. They asked me all these cancer related questions... I conclude that I am Vegan and simply healthy 😊

Is 2.2 good or too low? I didn't quite get what the ideal number is...

Thank you so much for this video. I have been researching this for a while and I wanted to confirm what I understood. This video made it clear. Also, to answer your question I think it is a little too inexpensive in my opinion haha. I am learning on the importance of WBC after noticing I went from 6.3 and 6.7 in 2019/2020 and getting now in 4...this year. I was in shock and thought I was maybe getting sick. I mean I was in the normal before things are changing. But, since the bottom of the range is better I can only attribute it to my fast and reducing my meat intake. I do both water and dry fasting. This is helping my food intolerances in a big way.

This video really helps a lot! Thank you very much! My WBC became 3.5 and 2.9. I am one of the people who almost never gets sick and I am considered pretty healthy person. Thank you very much!

I just watching this after my doctor was so concern about my WBC dropping down every year since I did start eating a whole food plant based diet. My WBC values came from 8,.5 to 3.5 now. I never had been sick since start eating plant based food

Huh, I am always getting flagged for low WBC on my blood work. I was sent to hematologist for dropping under 4 several times. Not a vegan though, I just don't eat much processed food. Looks like nothing to worry about. In fact quite the opposite.

Amazing information and explanation. Many thanks to you Sir.

Can you please do a video on RBCs? What is high blood clotting caused by?

Right after I went vegan, about two years ago my WBC was at 4.0 & a few months ago it was 3.1. I've been vegan for two years and before that vegetarian. Don't smoke, don't drink and my vit B12 is normal range. This last time my doctor referred me to a hematologist and the hematologist found nothing wrong. They tested my WBC three weeks later and it jumped to 4.2! The only change in my life style was that I added an additional 80g of fat per day into my diet at the time (since I was doing a raw vegan cleanse) and needed A LOT of fat in my diet to make it sustainable for me. Before that I followed a HCLF diet. It's interesting now knowing what I've experienced and seeing the correlation between fat, inflammation and WBC. Dr. G keep up the good work!

Thanks Dr. G....greatly appreciate all you do... 3.6 on WBC here...so go WFPB no oil vegan!

Wooooooahhhh, DR GREGER THANK YOU. When I got my test results back saying I had a WBC count of 3.35, I freaked out and thought I was sick with something. Now I know that’s a good thing! I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing.

I started low-carb/keto diet(all whole food), dropped some weight, and I feel great. I noticed that my WBC was about 3.3, had it redone for a 3.5 (4 - 12 normal range for this lab). I kept looking for information on this topic and I drew blank until I see this. It all makes sense now. My inflammation markers are equally low. I like my low WBC now!!

*3 meses siendo Plantbased y mis glóbulos blancos bajaron increíblemente. Lo comprobé por estudios de laboratorio que me hice, no sólo eso, muchas cosas más que descubrí!!!! Gracias Doctor!!!!*

I and several of my family have M.E., which current research suggests is something inflammatory/immune-related. Back in 2009 (after about 8 years of ME) my WBC was 7.5. I've since then tried an anti-inflammatory diet, plus more recently stopped eating meat and taken up (organic) food-growing and some easy cycling. So, I'm wondering what my reading would be now in 2017. Not sure how to get the test done, but I'll come back here when I do.

THIS VIDEO IS SO HELPFUL!

can you do a vid on neutrophils cnt vs wbc count

24 years old and my WBC has ranged from 2.3 to 3.2 over the last 5 years, No explanation. But i've felt good, no issues don't feel tired.

Just great!

Very interesting and informative! Thank you!

My WBC count is slightly lower then average, I have no infection, no issues, have not missed work for the last 10 years. The Dr seemed to suggest this is an issue, Thanks for being a educator and providing this. (but I do eat organic eggs, and organic , raw cheese but moderately and eat mostly vegetables, olives, olive oil, berries and that is about it.

Great Info!

My WBC counts were taken twice due to the doc saying they were too low, regardless of the fact that everything else came back perfectly fine, 1st panel was: 2.9 and my second was: 3.2, I'm 31. Vegan for 2 years. I eat Whole Foods mixed with faux meats/cheeses every so often. I do not use any tobacco, and I drink wine occasionally. Looks like I'm pretty fucking healthy 😊

Perhaps the reason that white blood cell count is reduced on a plant based diet is due to a reduction in the pH of bodily fluids. When our sinus fluid, urine, joint fluid, or any other fluid besides our blood, is too acidic it breaks down tissue more quickly. It's like when people marinade foods to break down their tissue. The more acid we produce to digest animals and processed foods the more acidic our fluids become and the more dead cells we have to clean out and replace. The acidic fluids age us quicker, cause swelling, and cause an increase in white blood cells needed to help clear out the excess dead tissue. I hope someone will study the correlation between white blood cell count and pH of bodily fluids. pH could be an even cheaper indication of disease that people could monitor at home.

The results in this study have more to do with caloric restriction then having a so called plant base diet. I my self got an even lower WBC of 2.6 with a ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting.

4.3 crew checkin in :D ... thanks Dr. G!

Got my blood work results today and made me worried as it is below the lower band of the normal range. I have always been at the borderline of the lower band. Now, it makes more sense. I have been eating more plant-based food and exercised more (reduced waist size, lower body fat). However, less meat probably means lower intake of iron.

So interesting! My friend just finished chemo a few months ago and went fully vegan and doctors say her WBC is too low. Is this still a good sign or is it different after chemo?

My WBC dropped below the "reference range" in my health reports of past 5 years. I feel relieved now after watching this video today. This feels in line with my resting heart rate (RHR) in the 40s (bpm), also below the "reference range". Due to doing IF everyday and averaging 11k runs/wk, I feel even more energetic and healthier than when I was in my 20s.

What if you have a high WBC but low auto leukocyte percentage?

please do a video on a ideal red blood count. mine is 3.96 wich is considered low on the "reference range scale" I have been to hemotologist and my blood work is great. I'm told this is just normal for me due to no other markers for concern. she says only 90 percent of population falls in reference range. you can be out side or reference range and still be perfectly healthy. have you ever come across anything like this? I have been a vegan for 8 yrs as well. thanks so much !

Thank you. I'm now a bit more informed. :)

My recent blood test came back with a WBC of 4.1. Honestly a bit surprising to me, considering I'm asthmatic and suffering from allergies quite a bit in the summer. Also I suffer from anxiety causing me stress, which can raise WBC. So I have pretty much constant low grade inflammation, but according to my lab results a WBC on the lower end of the normal range (they noted normal range as 4.0-10.0). Not quite sure how that works.

Checked my bloodwork May 2020, my wbc was 3.2, down from 3.4 in Dec 2019. I used to be around 5, 2 years ago but whe I switched to a whole food plant based diet my numbers went down to the low 3s. I didn't know that switching to WFPB diet would lower my wbc because I was concerned. (I'm also fighting with IBS or some sort of gut issue that causes me fatigue) so I thought my wbc being in the low range could be the cause of my fatigue but it's not.

I smoke, hardly exercise, eat meat all though not a lot or often and my wbc was still 3.5. Now I’m scared I stop smoking and it goes down even more

Mine is 2.6. My oncologist is concerned it’s too low. Thanks to this video I’m not worried. I do suffer from an autoimmune disease called NMO Neuromyelitis optica. But try to eat a good diet.

Thanks

What about high CRP levels? I am concerned as I was told this is a sign of heart disease. I have very high CRP and would love to get it to the normal range. Any information about CRP what it is, what it means, how can it be lowered would be appreciated.

Mine was 6.5 but I use to smoke a lot and was not fasting at the time plus I use to eat a lot of junk food. Maybe now it’s a lot lower. Plus I had tonsillitis and I just got them removed 3 weeks ago. Yeah and now I’m full whole food vegan diet I’m going to have my test done next week.

Mine is 2.9 and was 4.4 around a year ago. Do you think I should be concerned? I started intermittently fasting and even going whole days without eating or drinking. I think that played a roll

raw vegan at 3.4 and my doc was worried a bit but I immediate thought of it being a good thing possibhly

Got my blood test recently, can't wait to see my WBC!! I hope it's low!

What was the actual number range for an ideal white count. I think I missed it. Does it start at 3?

Mine dropped below the normal range when I switched to a plant-based diet, though not by a lot. The normal range is 4-11 K/µL. Mine is 3.8.

OMG this is Gold!! 5:35. This is exactly what I Was hoping to find! I was always told my WBC was too low. But the scale is an American based diet. I've always cook my own food and eat fairly clean. Thank you so much for this info!

Wow, thank you for this video. I just got blood work done and it was 3.8 and immediately got anxiety and thought I had cancer. This reassures me because I recently switched to a whole food diet about two months ago. I do eat meat but only lean cuts and I add saturated fats (for good skin health) by using refined coconut oil for cooking. It's crazy because I actually dropped quite a lot lower then all those studies. I was at 7 November of last year and now I'm half that. Whole food diet is the way to go....

I'm at 3.11 (10E9/L) Reference range in SWE (3.5 - 8.8) So im at the lowest of the "new" ref range according to greger. No meat, alcohol or smoking in 6 years.

What range wbc count tell me any one please

33y/o male. Over the years have ranged from 3.7-4.1. Causing a lot of health anxiety for me..

This video really helps a lot! Thank you very much! My WBC became 3.5 and 2.9. I am one of the people who almost never gets sick and I am considered pretty healthy person. Thank you very much! My diet consist of vegan diet.

So eat more plants, do more excersice, got it!

Does anyone have WBC of 1.0? What is considered unhealthy low for people following mostly WFPB diet?

I am dealing with low wbc 2.8uL however it's my low absolute neutrophil count (1032uL) in combination that is concerning. This number was higher 3 months ago at 1551 uL. My primary doctor ignored it for months only focusing on raising my Vitamin D levels. I am grateful as I was deficient but now those numbers are healthy and despite my concerns over my WBC (and now with the ANC having dropped) I am switching doctors and deepening my research as well as upleveling my preventative care including focusing on my diet (as always). Any informed input on this matter is greatly appreciated, please. Thank you!

Haha! I got 4.0 (4.0-10.0) - The minimum that is still in the normal range. I have been vegan (healthy, wfpb) for many many years and I’m very happy with that.

My WBC is way below the reference range. It's 3.6. Is that bad?

I have 3.0 wbc is it dangerous

My last panel showed a higher WBC count, is it normal for this to be so even in pregnancy, without being overweight or obese and eating predominantly plant based and vegetarian at the moment.

This answered my question. I gave up meat,dairy and sweets( occasionally indulging some bites here and there) Doctor told me my WBC was less then 4.0. I said well I gave up meat and dairy and was told that has nothing to do with it. Well yes it does.

I eat low carb high fat (every meal is fatty meat + veggies) and my wbc count always sits between 3.6-3.8. I would assume what we LCHF and vegetarians/vegans have in common is that we all are health focused so we eliminate processed foods, exercise, don't smoke, etc.

This is a relief. I got tested for a WBC of 2.9 roughly. I was all sorts of nervous from ideas of having cancer or even HIV.

My WBC have been around 3.5 the last 4 years . It's now down to 2.5, should I be concerned?

Sad how the medical industry doesnt truly care about helping people

Long term vegan here. last year my WBC was 4.5 and this year it was 4.7

I was worried about mine. Been dropping for a year at least. Been 7 months on plant based diet. Do have fatigue. Think it's more hormonal. Thank you for this video.

My WBC is 4.1

My wbc value is 3.3 does anyone know if this is ok?

What is the doc's WBC?

Mine is 2.98 in my last Easter exam...never known it were such an important data...interesting enough, the reference range is considered 4 to 11 !

My WBC is 4.4 Neutrophils 1.9 at 30 years old, am I healthy?

Cold water exposure and winter swimming is supposed to be healthy. But it also increases white blood cell count. How do the two things go together and would you recommend the practice based on these findings? Is a high white blood cell count maybe only a marker of unhealthy inflammation when it comes from a bad diet? And if it is caused by another natural stress-factor like cold it is no unhealthy?

Been under 4 (3.2-3.7) for over a year. I eat whole veg and clean proteins...all the good fats...raw dairy...eggs...french wheat...and a whole slew of supplements. Except massively fatigued and having random inflammation in knuckles. Eliminated the usual arthritis, tendonitis, carpel tunnel suspects. Its really strange. Perhaps stress induced?

Excellent advice. I am 3.9 x 10*9l. They say normal is 4.0 -11 Keep fit and eat healthy .

my question is this, is the low wbc count okay enough to fight off infections as low as they are or do they need to be at a certain rate to be able to fight off infections? i went vegan and my dr called and said re-test becoz my wbc are low, im also dealing with thyroid issues, im trying to eat more so i can have a pregnancy.

I'm on a ketogenic diet and eat fatty meats and fish, eggs, some veggies and so on. My wbc count is at 5.0. Not overweight and rarely exercising.

My neutrophils are 1.8 - 29 year old male vegetarian. My doctor is a little concerned should I be worried?

I think the very big takeaway is: get your CRP tested (hs-CRP) and if that is low, a low WBC reference range is 3.1-9. I always have my CRP tested as it’s a good indicator or systematic inflammation.

Title: Ideal White Me looking for the Anime Theme Song with that name: I have no way to finish that sentence

Thanks, vegan pal, I'm on keto and IF, I dropped 15 kg and I wonder what is going on with my WBCs. Best wishes.

Maybe WBC correlates to fat cell concentration. Lose weight and WBC goes down? All the time?

What about RBC? Is that supposed to be lower as well?

ok!

My count was 4.2 before going vegan. It was 8 in 2021 (not sure what I was exposed to then), then is now 4.1 In 2021 I had been mostly vegan for 6 months by then. I sometimes run too short on sleep. Otherwise my lifestyle is quite healthy. I have a lymph node that is slightly larger under one arm, but an oncologist observed it for a while and just has me getting annual blood cell counts for now.