9 of the Best Foods for Sickle Cell Disease

There are several reasons that getting enough calories and nutrients can be difficult with SCD, says Nirmish Shah, MD, a hematologist and associate professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

He lists a few of them:

• Reduced appetite
• Feeling full quickly
• Trouble absorbing nutrients
• Energy needs that outpace what you eat
• Eating less during illness and pain crises
• Food insecurity
• Pain medications, which can cause constipation and reduce appetite

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“Diet can correct deficiencies and support growth and immunity, which matters because deficiency states do seem to track with disease severity,” says Dr. Shah. But there’s no evidence from clinical trials that any particular way of eating reduces pain crises, and food is never a substitute for the treatments your care team prescribes, such as hydroxyurea, blood transfusions, folic acid, penicillin, and vaccines, he says.

There are no trials testing specific foods for sickle cell disease, so food recommendations are simply based on the nutrients that they provide, says Shah.

“The basic idea is that oxidative stress causes sickling and vaso-occlusive crisis, the medical term for a pain crisis, when sickled red blood cells block blood flow in small blood vessels and cause episodes of severe pain. Vitamins A, C, and E are low in SCD, so eating foods that are high in antioxidants and folate makes sense,” he says.

Shah also emphasizes the need for protein to his patients. Falling short on protein and calories can make the disease worse, he says.

These nine foods are rich in the protein, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fluids that can help fill the gaps.

1. Salmon

2. Spinach

“Dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale, and collards provide folate, vitamin A, and magnesium,” says Shah.

Spinach also contains iron, and eating it with a vitamin C–rich food helps your body absorb that iron, says Shah.

3. Lentils

4. Eggs

5. Plain Yogurt

“Dairy foods such as yogurt provide arginine, an amino acid the body uses to make nitric oxide, which is low in people with sickle cell disease,” says Shah. Eating a diet higher in protein helps increase how much arginine you get, he adds.

6. Almonds

7. Oranges

Vitamin C is an antioxidant, and eating antioxidant-rich foods makes sense for people with sickle cell disease, though there isn’t any direct evidence that it improves outcomes, says Shah.

8. Strawberries

“Berries are full of flavonoids, plant compounds with antioxidant effects that are being studied in sickle cell disease, but the evidence is still early and comes mainly from lab studies,” says Shah.

9. Melon and Cucumber

People with sickle cell disease often need to pass a lot of urine, which raises the risk of dehydration, and dehydration makes red blood cells more likely to sickle, says Shah.

That’s why he encourages patients to drink plenty of fluids and eat water-filled foods like watermelon, cantaloupe, and cucumber.

“Water is the most ideal fluid to drink,” says Shah. Drink more when you have pain or a fever, when it’s hot, or when you’re physically active, and consider an electrolyte drink when you’re sick or losing more fluid than usual, he says. Children and teens usually need about 1 to 1.5 times as much fluid per pound of body weight as adults, he says.

But too much fluid during a pain crisis can be dangerous, especially for people taking opioids or those who have heart or kidney problems, so follow your care team’s guidance, says Shah.