Diet and exercise are important for everyone and help your body to stay healthy which can help with managing your condition. You can find out more about what a health and balanced diet looks like here. Having sickle cell doesn't impact on the types of food you can eat. You should try to have 5-9 different fruits and vegetables each day and also include proteins such as eggs, meat, fish, chicken, beans, seeds and nuts in your meals. Nutrition is important regardless of your condition to ensure positive health and well-being.

Like diet hydration is important regardless of your condition however it is even more important if you have a diagnosis of sickle cell. Drinking water promotes healthy blood flow and reduces red blood cells sickling together which can cause pain and potentially a crisis. Water keeps the blood moving freely within the blood vessels.

Alongside your diet exercise can help you to stay healthy. Having sickle cell shouldn't stop you from being active but it can be important to avoid very strenuous activities that can cause you to become out of breath. You can read more about having sickle cell and being active here.