foods that naturally thin the blood

8/10/2019 Foods That Naturally Thin the Blood

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Naturally Thinning the Blood

Overview

There are a number of foods and supplements that are known to thin the blood.These include foods with high amounts of aspirin like substances calledsalicylates, omega-3 fatty acids, foods with natural antibiotic properties andvitamin E supplements.

It is important to note that while many Americans have problems with blood clots,it is true that blood thinning foods are desirable for everyone in the population.People taking prescription anticoagulant drugs however, need to be careful not toconsume too many foods with natural blood thinning compounds in addition totheir regular medication. Some people on a prescription anticoagulant drug for

blood clots have gotten eye hemorrhages from ingesting too many blood thinningfoods in conjunction with these prescription medication. Encouraging the bloodthinning foods instead of the drugs would have been a much wiser long termsolution while reducing the medication.

Interestingly, patients are given a list of foods high in vitamin K so they wouldknow what foods to limit so as not to reduce the effectiveness of the medication.However they are not given a list of foods that have their own anticoagulantproperties, which if taken in conjunction with this medication could causebleeding problems.

Blood coagulation should fall within a desirable range. If blood coagulates tooeasily, clots can form which in turn can lead to adverse health conditions such asheart attacks. However, if blood doesn't clot enough, conditions such ashematuria (blood in the urine), nosebleeds, hemorrhages, heavy periods inwomen, nosebleedsand bleeding strokes may occur. If a person's blood isn'tclotting enough and he has surgery or a traumatic event like a car accident, hecould have a serious problem by losing too much blood from wounds or surgicalincisions failing to clot properly. This has come to the attention of emergencyroom physicians who note the rising incidence of people on blood thinnerscoming to the ER due to internal bleeding from simple household falls or seat beltdamage following a minor fender-bender accident.

Some of the foods that are generally thought to have natural blood thinningcompounds are listed below. Please note that this is a hodge podge list based oninformation collected over the years based on our own experiences, Internetresearch and an assortment of alternative health books. See your natural doctorbefore you implement any diet, supplement or exercise changes, especially if youare taking any prescription medications or have any health concerns related tocoagulation.


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Provided in the public interest by Dr. Richard Brouse (503)654-3225

Salicylates

One type of natural blood thinners are substances that block vitamin K. Theseinclude salicylates. The most well known of these is aspirin, but many foods,such as preservatives and flavorings, also contain salicylates or aspirin like

substances. Some individuals are known to be aspirin or salicylate sensitive.Many are salicylate sensitive types, but they find that they can eat moresalicylates as long as they eat a balanced amount of vitamin K foods, too.(Vitamin K plays an important role in the body's in blood clotting processes. The"K" in vitamin K gets its name from the Danish word for coagulation.)

Foods that are generally high in salicylates include many spices, most fruit,especially dried fruits, nuts, and also some flavorings and preservatives.

Herbs and spices high in salicylates include:

Curry powder Cayenne pepper Ginger Paprika Thyme Cinnamon Dill Oregano Turmeric Licorice Peppermint

In Ayurvedic (traditional Indian medicine) many of the above spices are known as"warming spices". I think this is because by thinning the blood they increase aperson's blood circulation, which in turn speeds up the metabolism and makes aperson feel warmer. Foods made with cinnamon, a spice high in blood thinningcompounds is known as a warming spice in Ayurvedic medicine.

One of my patients had trouble with night sweats, so we put him on a diet thatamong other changes limited the amount of salicylates he consumed. Thatseemed to help him stay much cooler at night.

Fruits high in salicylates include

Raisins Prunes Cherries Cranberries Blueberries Grapes

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Strawberries Tangerines Oranges

Other substance high in salicylates:

Chewing gum Honey Peppermints Vinegar Wine Cider

Though there are some exceptions, in general most meat, fish, dairy, grains andvegetable foods are not high in salicylates. Many types of fish do however haveblood thinning properties due to their omega-3 fatty acid content, as noted below.

Chinese food is often prepared with many warming spices, such as ginger andgarlic.

I have heard from a number of patients who developed bleeding problems aftertrying to consume large amounts of ripened berries from their gardens. Theywere trying to use up a bumper crop of a fruit like blueberries or strawberries andinadvertently thinned their blood from the unusually high berry consumption.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antagonist to vitamin K. Some foods and topical substancesthese days are preserved with vitamin E, so it pays to read labels carefully.Foods high in vitamin E may not necessarily thin the blood, as many foods highin vitamin E, such as spinach and broccoli also contain significant amounts ofvitamin K, which tend to clot the blood.

Some people are prescribed vitamin E supplements by doctors for severe nightsweats and fibrocystic breasts. Afterwards, they developed an increased numberof bleeding and bruising problems, including menorrhagia. Most medical journalstudies found that people have to take relatively large doses of vitamin E in orderfor it to have an effect on coagulation. However, I don't think that is true for

everyone. For some people who are easy bleeders amounts of vitamin E above800 to 1,000 IU per day can cause bleeding issues. Shaklee Vita E Complexand the Vita E 400 Tablets are an excellent source of all 8 of the naturallyoccurring forms of vitamin E. The tablet form is absorbed more efficiently bypeople who have had their gall bladder removed.

Vitamin B6?

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Interestingly, some studies found that vitamin B6 lowers estrogen levels, and it iswell established through medical studies that increased estrogen levels arelinked to blood clots. As such, vitamin B6 may lower estrogen levels, then itmakes sense how it can also thin the blood. However, I have never found anystudies noting this association, so at this time the link between vitamin B6 and

thinner blood is just a hypothesis in my part based on information from myexperience and logical deduction. Shaklee B Complex is a very effectivelyabsorbed source of all of the B vitamins in the proper order.

Omega- 3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acidshave received a lot of press lately because of their ability tolower cholesterol levels and make the blood less prone to clotting. Fish oil isusually high in omega-3s and can be ingested either by taking capsules or byeating fatty fish. Fish with high amounts of omega-3s include:

Mackerel Anchovies Salmon Albacore tuna Mackerel Lake Trout Herring

When eating fish, one danger is that many fish have high mercury levels, soexperts often have mixed recommendations on exactly just how healthy eating alot of seafood is for most people. Mercury is observed to increase blood clotting.

The chart in this link to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency web sitecontains a table of mercury levels in commercial fish and shellfish. Fish is stillthought to be a great food for people who are at risk for blood clots regardless ofmercury levels. Taking Shaklee Omega Guard is a safe way of getting all sevenof the omega-3s.

Additional Selected Foods With Compounds That Thin the Blood

Tree Ear Jicama

Garlic Onions Olive Oil

Garlic and onions are natural antibiotics that can kill the intestinal bacteria thatmanufacture vitamin K. Many studies have found that long term prescriptionantibiotic use can cause bleeding problems due to a vitamin K deficiency.However, for people who are low on vitamin K, even small amounts of foods with

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natural antibiotics properties, like garlic and onions, are problematic. Avoid over-eating at Italian restaurants because of their liberal use of garlic.

James A. Duke, author of several books on herbal medicine, notes that garlic hasnine different compounds that are antiaggregants (compounds that prevent the

blood platelets from sticking together).

Alcohol

A study that appeared in the October, 2005 issue of the journalAlcoholism:Clinical & Experimental Researchfound that "Alcohol consumption is inverselyassociated with both platelet activation and aggregation." Another study,published in 1986 in the same journal, found signs of subclinical vitamin Kdeficiencyin a study of 20 male alcoholics. Perhaps not coincidentally, the signsof fetal alcohol syndromeclosely resemble the symptoms of vitamin K deficiencyin newborns.

Research has reported that red wine is an especially potent as a blood thinner.More recent studies have shown that the proanthcyanadins and polyphenols inthe dark pigment of the purple grapes are potent antioxidants that preventpremature blood clotting. The alcohol has long term damage to the livers abilityto regulate heparin and should be avoided. Eat the graps, drink the jucie andtake Shaklee Flavomax.

Exercise

Based on studies of athletes, vigorous exercise seems to lower vitamin K levels.

Those who are elite athletes, i.e. those who train and compete or compulsivelyover exercise, instead of being healthy actually are at risk for cardiac damage,osteoporosis and vitamin K deficiency. Vitamin K is necessary to clot the blood,so by logical deduction then it may be prudent to consider the possibility that overexercising may thin the blood since it is known to lower levels of vitamin K.

At the other end of the spectrum, we know that people who remain stationary forlong periods, such as people on bed rest, in car trips or travelers on long planeflights, are at risk for blood clots. Long airline flights (more than 2 hours) causesome travelers to develop blood clots in their legs. The stress of travel has rootsin vascular restriction and low blood oxygen levels. Both of these factors are

known to induce premature blood clotting.

By logical deduction then, the table below may illustrate the links between theconditions associated with remaining stationary and the conditions with overexercising, two conditions at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Remaining stationary Vigorous Exercising

Low oxygen High oxygen

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Blood Clots Vitamin K deficiency

Thinner blood

Higher estrogen levels Low estrogen levels

Increased cancer risk Decreased cancer risk

Table showing known li nks between exercise, estrogen levels, vitamin K, cancerand blood clotting.

Interestingly, a 2003 study from the University of Colorado Health SciencesCenter found that blood clots in obese peoplecould be dissolved with regularexercise.

Sunshine / Vitamin D?

In Ayurvedic medicine, sunshine is supposed to be good for a person'scirculation, which I've found usually means it also thins the blood. As notedabove, other Ayurvedic remedies for improving circulation, such as cinnamonand ginger, have actually been proven in modern medical studies to be naturalblood thinners. As such, it would be logical to consider the possibility that if

Ayurvedic medicine was correct about the spices thinning the blood, they mayhave been right about sunshine, too.

Interestingly, a recent medical study found that a "clinical trial of a biologicallyactive metabolite of Vitamin D3 demonstrated an unanticipated reduction ofthrombosisin cancer patients." Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that we canobtain in two ways: 1) through food; 2) supplementation or 3) it can besynthesized by the body after exposure to sunshine. Many people are sufferingfrom vitamin D deficiency due to applying sun blockers because of the threat ofdeveloping sun-induced skin cancer. If sunshine is found to be a blood thinner, itwould confirm what Ayurvedic practitioners have thought to be true for thousandsof years.

Cancer and Blood Clots

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) cancer is often viewed as a symptom of acirculation problem. In modern, Western medicine, the common assumption isthat cancer causes blood clots. But what if the TCM version is really the mostaccurate view, and the reality was that blood clots, or a lack of circulation fromblood clots, caused cancer? Perhaps not coincidentally, many factors thatstudies show may decrease the risk of cancer also thin the blood. These include

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sunshine, exercise, aspirin, heparin, antibiotics, olive oil, fish oil, turmeric, vitaminE and garlic. For more on this topic, see my article on breast cancer, blood clotsand excess vitamin K levels.

Summary

It is well known that foods that elevate vitamin K levels, such as dark greenlettuce and broccoli, may clot the blood. People who are taking anticoagulantsare often warned to limit these types of foods so they don't counteract theeffectiveness of their medicine. Substituting the food for the medicine should bethe long term goal of the practitioner and the patient.

However, it is often overlooked that many foods and environmental factors,especially those that lower vitamin K levels, may thin the blood. This informationmay be important for people on anticoagulants to be aware of in order to preventtheir blood from becoming too thin while they are getting regular testing done for

1) pulse oximeter oxygen saturation in the blood, 2) antioxidants in the blood, 3)clotting studies on the blood (ie, live blood cell analysis, INR or total clottingtime), 4) circulatory measurements (ie. Doppler, plethysmograph, distal pulsemeasurements) or 5) platelet blood counts, .

Some people have genetic disorders that make them easy bleeders. However Ihave found that by controlling diet by monitoring how much of the foods listedabove I consume, exercising, avoiding environmental chemicals (xenobiotics)they can usually reverse bleeding problems.

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foods that naturally thin the blood

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